Department of Health and Social Care

Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she last met with the families involved with the Essex Mental Health Statutory Public Inquiry.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to meet families involved in the Essex mental health independent inquiry to discuss the terms of reference for that inquiry.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding for the legal teams of the families involved in the Essex mental health independent inquiry.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Sodium Valproate and Surgical Mesh Implants

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timetable is to respond to the Patient Safety Commissioner's report entitled Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Admissions

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will publish the correspondence to NHS trusts requiring emergency departments to prioritise patients not in need of admission to hospital.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Electronic Cigarettes

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what NHS support is available for people wanting to give up vaping.

Andrea Leadsom: Vaping can be an effective tool for adult smokers to quit smoking. However, the health advice is clear: if you don’t smoke, don’t vape, and children should never vape. The NHS Better Health website provides advice for people who want to quit vaping. Local stop smoking services can also provide resources to support children and adult vapers to quit, through funding from the public health grant. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/vaping-to-quit-smoking/In addition, the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training has produced guidance for local Stop Smoking Service staff on how best to support vapers to quit. We are also exploring further ways to support people to quit vaping, as part of the national Swap to Stop programme. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.ncsct.co.uk/publications/Support_stop_vaping

Obesity: Surgery

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to increase access to NHS-provided weight loss surgery in the Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust.

Andrew Stephenson: Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning National Health Service specialist and bariatric weight management services. Rates of bariatric surgery fell across West Yorkshire during the pandemic as hospitals focused on surgeries that were more clinically urgent. More patients are, however, starting to receive treatment again. To speed up access to surgery, the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts, which includes the Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, are working to ensure that people who have been waiting the longest times are offered the opportunity to have their surgery at an alternative hospital, if they wish.Additionally, local areas and care providers in West Yorkshire are working together to review obesity and bariatric surgery commissioning policies and processes to ensure that they are providing care in the best and most efficient way possible, to make the most of resources and to offer treatment to more people who need it.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Drugs

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure adequate supply of ADHD medications.

Andrew Stephenson: Disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been primarily driven by issues which have resulted in capacity constraints at key manufacturing sites.The Department has been working closely with the respective manufacturers and some issues have now been resolved. However, we know that there continue to be disruptions to the supply of some other medicines, and work continues to resolve the remaining supply issues by April or May this year.We understand how frustrating and distressing medicine supply issues can be and we want to assure you that we are working with the respective manufacturers to resolve the issues with ADHD medicine supply in the United Kingdom as soon as possible, and to help ensure patients are able to access these medicines in the short and long term.While we cannot always prevent supply issues from occurring, the Department already has a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise, and to help mitigate risks to patients. There is a team within the Department that deals specifically with medicine supply problems, and it works closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, the devolved administrations, and others operating in the supply chain to help prevent shortages and to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when shortages do arise.

Insulin

Richard Foord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help ensure that people who require insulin are able to access it.

Richard Foord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure people who require insulin are aware of alternative medications.

Richard Foord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people affected by a shortage of insulin.

Andrew Stephenson: We are aware of a supply disruption affecting Tresiba (Insulin degludec) FlexTouch 100 units per millilitre solution for injection three millilitre pre-filled pens. While we do not hold information on number of people affected by this issue, we have worked with industry to identify suitable alternatives and can confirm that Tresiba Penfill cartridges are available and can fully support the increase in demand.A National Patient Safety Alert was issued for Tresiba Flextouch pens on Friday 8 December 2023, providing updates to the National Health Service about the supply issue and providing advice for healthcare professionals on how to manage patients during the supply disruption. Any patient who is concerned should speak to their clinician.There is a team within the Department that deals specifically with medicine supply problems. It has well-established tools and processes to manage medicine supply issues, working closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England and others operating in the supply chain to help prevent shortages and expedite resupply as soon as possible to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised. Information on the number of people affected by the supply issue is not held.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons the NHS missed its target of 70% of invited women to be screened for breast cancer in 2022-23.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department is committed to improving uptake in the NHS Breast Screening Programme. NHS England has commissioned evaluative projects to understand why women are not coming forward for screenings, and ways to improve uptake, these include:- actively following up with women who have missed an appointment or not engaged with the service;- looking at the reasons why women do not attend screenings, to address any barriers; and- assessing the impact on screening uptake using different invitation methodologies with reference to factors such as age, previous screening history including attendance at first invitation and subsequent invites, and deprivation.These projects are expected to report by April 2024.

Breast Cancer: Health Education

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to deliver a national awareness campaign on breast cancer screening to help improve uptake.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department is currently exploring opportunities for national campaigns to support positive outcomes on women’s health.Work is underway to scope the feasibility of running a national campaign to support breast screening uptake, and this will be informed by pilot activity due to run in London in 2024/25.

Dental Services

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Oral Statement of 7 February 2024 on NHS Dentistry: Recovery and Reform, Official Report, columns 251-253, whether she has made an estimate of the impact of the announcement to offer additional payments for check-ups and new patients on the number of new dental surgeries that will be established in each of the next five years.

Andrea Leadsom: The Dentistry Recovery Plan will make dental services faster, simpler, and fairer for patients and will fund approximately two and a half million additional appointments, or more than one and a half million additional courses of dental treatment. As part of the plan, we will launch a new Golden Hello scheme for dentists who want to move to areas which persistently struggle to attract dentists into National Health Service work. The scheme will provide an extra two and a half million appointments, with 20,000 to be offered per dentist, for up to 240 dentists over three years.We recognise that some commissioners will also be looking to commission new dentistry capacity to support under-served areas. We will support integrated care boards to ensure they understand how commissioning teams can encourage development of their local provider market, and to identify what further support they may need to develop new capacity, where they would otherwise be dependent on existing contractors and facilities to deliver improvements in access.

Dental Services

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to (a) increase availability of and (b) reduce waiting times for dental appointments.

Andrea Leadsom: On 7 February, we published Our Plan to Recover and Reform National Health Service Dentistry. The Dentistry Recovery Plan will make dental services faster, simpler, and fairer for patients and will fund around 2.5 million additional appointments.The Plan sets out a number of actions which will improve access for patients, by helping the sector to recover activity more quickly, including the introduction of a New Patient Payment Premium of up to £50 for each new patient. This is on top of the funding dental practices already receive for delivering that care.We will further incentivise dentists to do more NHS work by raising the minimum Units of Dental Activity (UDA) rate to £28.From 1 April 2023 responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. ICBs are responsible for having local processes in place to identify areas of need and determine the priorities for investment.

Dental Services: Contracts

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of NHS dental practices were in dispute with her Department about reconciling payments for NHS work on 30 January 2024; and what assessment she has made of the (a) clarity and (b) ease of the reconciliation process.

Andrea Leadsom: Year-end reconciliation is a national process carried out, in the most part, by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA), and commissioned by NHS England.As of 31 January 2024, there were 38 unresolved queries from contract holders about their year-end outcome for 2022/23. This equates to 0.6% of the 6673 contracts within the NHS BSA responsibility to reconcile. There are a further proportion of contracts, 1,946, that remain within the remit of integrated care boards to reconcile, where data is not held centrally.The process of year end reconciliation is a vital part of ensuring contract holders are held accountable for the activity they have been contracted to deliver, and to ensure taxpayers get value for money from the £3 billion National Health Service dentistry budget.

Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood

Kwasi Kwarteng: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 14 June 2023 to Question 188530 on Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood, whether it remains her policy to update the information on the NHS website on sudden unexplained death in childhood before June 2024.

Andrea Leadsom: On 28 July 2023, the National Health Service United Kingdom website team updated its content on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) to distinguish between SIDS and Sudden Unexplained Death Childhood (SUDC), including a reference and link to the charity SUDC UK for further information.However, a decision was made not to incorporate information about SUDC to the website content on febrile seizures. This was based on the lack of high-quality evidence connecting the two and is in line with the British Medical Association guidance and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Clinical Knowledge Summary. It was also noted that the primary advice and directives on seeking help for febrile seizures would remain unchanged.

Dental Services: North of England

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) adults and (b) children were admitted to hospital for a tooth extraction due to decay in the region covered by the NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board in each of the last five years.

Andrea Leadsom: The following table shows child and adult hospital admission for dental extraction due to decay in the North East and North Cumbria footprint, based on the registered general practices, each year from 2019 to present:YearAdultChildTotal2019/202,1722,5394,7112020/219241,4342,3582021/221,5392,3413,8802022/231,7472,3764,1232023/241,2701,7042,974Total7,65210,39418,046Source: Secondary Uses Service data is available on the NHS Digital website via the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/services/secondary-uses-service-susNote: Based on Primary diagnosis K02, Primary procedure, F09, F10.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to target support to people with adverse childhood experiences to prevent alcohol harm.

Andrea Leadsom: Evidence suggests that adverse childhood experiences are often intergenerational, and while people with adverse childhood experiences are more likely to have grown up in a household where one or both parents were alcohol dependent compared to the general population, their children are also more likely to develop alcohol problems as they get older.This is why we are investing in vital services to be at the heart of local offers for families. Not only do these services play a pivotal role in keeping more children safe from adverse experiences, with stable loving relationships, they can also help overcome multiple, complex problems within families before they escalate. We have committed to £1 billion of funding for programmes to improve early help support. This includes around £300 million to fund a new three-year Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. This programme, now in its second year, is delivering a step-change in outcomes for babies, children, parents and carers in 75 local authorities in England with high deprivation. This funding also includes an additional £695 million for the Supporting Families programme, which builds the resilience of vulnerable families by providing effective support for all their underlying and interconnected problems, such as addressing alcohol harms and other adverse childhood experiences.We are investing at least £2.3 billion of additional funding a year by March 2024, compared to 2018/19, to expand and transform mental health services in England so that two million more people, including those with adverse childhood experiences, can get the mental health support that they need. We are also rolling out mental health support teams to schools and colleges across England. The Government is also investing an extra £532 million for local authorities to improve alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services through Drug Strategy funding through to 2024/25. Local authorities are encouraged to develop programmes which provide tailored support to families affected by parental alcohol and drug use with this funding.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the number of residential placements available for individuals who have experienced alcohol harm.

Andrea Leadsom: Local authorities are responsible for assessing local need for alcohol treatment and commissioning a range of services and interventions, including the provision of residential rehabilitation to meet that need. As part of the Government’s 10-year drug strategy, we have made a record £532 million of additional investment through to 2024/25 to improve drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services. This funding is in addition to the Public Health Grant and will improve the capacity and quality of drug and alcohol treatment. 83 areas also receive funding for treatment pathways for people who sleep rough, and this funding can be used to support people into residential treatment.

Alcoholic Drinks: Health Education

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on (a) reducing alcohol harm among children and (b) providing effective education for young people on that subject.

Andrea Leadsom: Alcohol dependence is rare in children under the age of 18 years old, although they may be drinking problematically. Children may also experience harm associated with parental alcohol dependence. For those that do need support, the Department has allocated £532 million of additional funding through to 2024/25 to support improvements in treatment, including facilitating 5,000 more young people into age-appropriate alcohol and drug treatment. The most effective and sustainable approach to reducing alcohol harms in young people is by giving them the best start in life, the best education possible and by keeping them safe, well and happy. Statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) requires all primary and secondary school pupils to be taught the key facts and risks of alcohol use, as well as how to manage influences and pressure, and keep themselves healthy and safe. The Department has worked with the Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education Association to develop the lesson plans on alcohol and is currently commissioning an update of the resources to be published later this year. Further information is available at the following link:  https://pshe-association.org.uk/drugeducation The Department for Education is evaluating the delivery of RSHE. The findings and recommendations will progress our Drug Strategy commitment that all children and young people are provided with effective high quality education to prevent future alcohol and drug use. Our strategy is available at the following link:   https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/629078bad3bf7f036fc492d1/From_harm_to_hope_PDF.pdf The Government also has an information and advice service called Talk to FRANK, which aims to reduce alcohol and drug use and its harms by providing awareness to young people, parents and concerned others. Information on alcohol and its harms is available at the following link:  https://www.talktofrank.com/drug/alcohol

Dentistry: Migrant Workers

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her oral statement of 7 February 2024 on NHS Dentistry: Recovery and Reform, Official Report column 251, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of using her powers under the Professional Qualifications Act 2022 to increase the number of foreign dentists qualified to practice in the UK.

Andrea Leadsom: My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has made an assessment of the merits of using powers under the Professional Qualifications Act 2022 (PQ Act) to increase the number of overseas-qualified dentists able to practice in the United Kingdom.The PQ Act affirmed the Government’s commitment to protect the autonomy of regulators, including the General Dental Council, to assess overseas-gained professional qualifications and make decisions about whether individuals meet the requirements to work in a regulated profession in the UK.The PQ Act contains a power for the Government to implement international agreements. This power was used to implement the UK’s free trade agreement with the European Economic Area and European Free Trade Association member states in 2023, meaning that UK regulators are now required to recognise comparable qualifications obtained in Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Work is currently underway to use the PQ Act power to implement the UK-Swiss Recognition of Professional Qualifications Agreement by 1 January 2025.

Dental Services: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much Barnett Consequential funding the Welsh Government will receive from spending announced in the NHS Dental Recovery Plan for England.

Andrea Leadsom: This is a fully funded £200 million plan, and the National Health Service spending totals will be set at the budget, in the usual way. As with all England-only health funding, anything related to this plan will be subject to Barnett Consequential funding in the usual manner within the block grant.

Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Health Education

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will have discussions with representatives of the alcohol industry on the role of product labelling in informing women about the risks of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government recognises that fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) can have a significant adverse impact on the health of children and their life chances, and that the sole cause of FASD is alcohol exposure in pregnancy. The United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Officers’ (UK CMOs’) low-risk drinking guidance sets out that for women who are pregnant or could become pregnant, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all, to keep risks to the baby to a minimum.The Department published guidance for industry in 2017 on communicating the UK CMOs’ low-risk drinking guidelines on alcohol labels, including the guideline on alcohol and pregnancy. This ensures consumers, including women who are or may become pregnant, have the best available information at the point of purchase.

Public Health: Gambling

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the potential merits of adopting a public health approach to tackling gambling harms.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department regularly engages with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on tackling gambling-related harms, and will continue to work closely on the implementation of the gambling white paper commitments, in particular, the implementation of the new statutory levy on gambling operators.

Dental Services

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the efficacy of dental commissioning by Integrated Care Boards.

Andrea Leadsom: Following the delegation of its commissioning responsibilities to integrated care boards (ICB) from 1 April 2023, NHS England published the Operating Framework which sets out the accountabilities and responsibilities of NHS England and ICBs, and supports the requirements as laid out within the delegation agreement. This framework is intended to provide clarity on NHS England’s expectations on how ICBs will provide assurance to NHS England that they are exercising the delegated functions safely, effectively, and consistently within legislation regulations and statutory guidance. It will also set out the information that will be collected as part of the oversight of commissioning functions. This framework is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/operating-framework/NHS England encourages ICBs to reflect regularly on their compliance status, rather than just through annual self-declaration. Both formal and informal touchpoints will exist through ordinary business, and assurance discussions between NHS England regional teams and ICBs are woven into these meetings. To support both ICBs and regional colleagues, NHS England has published a Primary care commissioning assurance framework, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/operating-framework/ In addition, Faster, simpler and fairer: our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry, which was published on 7 February 2024, sets out a number of ways in which we will support ICBs to improve dental commissioning. For example, NHS England will work with ICBs in 2024/25 to identify opportunities to support contractors to deliver additional capacity beyond their existing contractual requirements, up to 110%, and to permanently and unilaterally amend contracts which have consistently under-delivered to ensure the Units of Dental Activity (UDAs) can be released and delivered by other contract holders instead. We have started to publish monthly data on local National Health Service dental activity at the ICB level, including the proportion of UDAs being delivered in different places. We will publish new workforce data early this year to support ICBs with their commissioning function, including employment and working trends. We will also consider publishing data on community dental services, which provide care to the most vulnerable patients, and we will explore opportunities to link to other community data sets and help join-up of local services.

Dental Services: Somerset

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Oral Statement of 7 February 2024 on NHS Dentistry: Recovery and Reform, how she defines Somerset in the context of the area across which dentistry vans will be deployed.

Andrea Leadsom: We will deploy dental vans offering appointments to patients in targeted rural and coastal communities who have the most limited access to dentistry, including Somerset, starting later this year.We are currently working with NHS England and the integrated care boards (ICBs), including NHS Somerset ICB, to agree the exact number of vans, and where they will be deployed. I expect to be able to provide more details on this in due course.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education: Gambling

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on the potential merits of including information on the health impact of gambling harms in the personal, social, health and economic education curriculum.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department for Education is currently undertaking a review of the statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education. The Department of Health and Social Care will remain engaged with the Department for Education, as this work progresses.

Physiotherapy: Hornsey and Wood Green

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the availability of rehabilitation physiotherapy appointments for patients in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency.

Helen Whately: The Department has no current plans to make an assessment of the adequacy of the availability of rehabilitation physiotherapy appointments for patients in the Hornsey and Wood Green constituency.

Cancer: Drugs

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she (a) has had and (b) plans to have with (i) brain tumour research charities and (ii) other organisations working to secure UK access to (A) Vorasidenib and (B) other new drugs for cancers of unmet need.

Andrew Stephenson: Department ministers and officials regularly meet with charities and other organisations working to improve outcomes for patients with cancer, including brain tumours, through access to new medicines.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations on whether all new medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service based on an assessment of their costs and benefits and aims to publish guidance as close as possible to licensing. NICE engages with stakeholders, including charities, in the development of its recommendations. NICE is currently developing guidance for the NHS on the use of Vorasidenib.

Radiotherapy

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she plans to take to (a) help ensure equality of access to radiotherapy, (b) recruit more staff, (c) acquire more equipment and (d) otherwise increase radiotherapy capacity.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government and NHS England are already taking steps to ensure that cancer patients can receive high quality radiotherapy treatment across England. This includes supporting advances in radiotherapy using cutting-edge imaging and technology to help target radiation doses at cancer cells more precisely.Despite the impact of the pandemic and recent industrial action, 340,530 people received their first cancer treatment in the 12 months to November 2023, a record high. Between 2016 and 2021, the Government invested £162 million to replace or upgrade around 100 radiotherapy treatment machines. This is in addition to funds invested by National Health Service trusts from their capital budgets or donations. However, responsibility for investing in radiotherapy machines has sat with integrated care boards since April 2022, with guidance advising systems to replace the majority of radiotherapy equipment at 10 years of age.NHS England is supporting the growth of the cancer workforce, including radiotherapy, through the NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan to ensure that we have staff to meet the projected growth in demand for cancer treatment. In October 2023 there were over 34,900 full-time equivalent staff in the cancer workforce, an increase of over 12,400, or 55.3%, since October 2010.NHS England is expanding diagnostic capacity for cancer, including through the roll-out of our new community diagnostic centres (CDCs). These have delivered over six million tests since July 2021, including vital cancer checks. CDCs will deliver up to 17 million tests by March 2025, with capacity for nine million more a year once all are fully operational.

Bowel Cancer: Screening

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure that people with Lynch Syndrome are (a) informed of their condition and (b) made aware of their increased risk of bowel cancer.

Andrew Stephenson: NHS England, through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service, has launched a national transformation project to ensure more patients with Lynch syndrome are identified and benefit from regular check-ups, earlier interventions, and more targeted treatment, such as combinations of immunotherapy, chemotherapy and surgeries.People aged between 25 and 75 years old identified as having Lynch Syndrome will be included in the surveillance arm of the National Health Service bowel cancer screening programme, and will be offered a colonoscopy every two years.The national programme ensures all people diagnosed with bowel and endometrial are offered genomic testing, with a diagnosis for Lynch syndrome not only helping to guide more personalised cancer treatment but enabling their families and relatives to be offered testing too.

Bowel Cancer: Screening

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she plans to take to help increase the (a) stock of colonoscopy equipment, (b) number of colonoscopy facilities and (c) number of trained staff; and what other steps she plans to take to increase the use of colonoscopies in detecting bowel cancer.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government is not currently planning to take steps to increase the stock of colonoscopy equipment. £2.3 billion was awarded at the Spending Review 2021 to transform diagnostic services over the next three years. Within this funding, NHS England is delivering an expected net increase uplift of 67 endoscopy rooms in acute trusts or in non-community diagnostic centre (CDC) developments. In CDCs, current plans are for 46 sites to be delivering endoscopies from March 2025, of which, 39 will deliver colonoscopies. This will help to support integrated care boards not currently meeting the optimal capacity of 3.5 rooms per 100,000 people over 50 years old, to do so.NHS England will continue to deliver initiatives to train around 100 clinical endoscopists per annum to be capable of delivering colonoscopies and other gastrointestinal procedures. In addition to this NHS England is also training doctors, such as gastroenterologists, in the same procedures and continuing to develop, implement and improve immersive and rapid colonoscopy training through endoscopy academies.As of October 2023, there are over 3,200 full-time equivalent doctors working in the specialty of gastroenterology within National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England. This is over 100, or 4.3%, more than in 2022, over 500, or 20.1%, more than in 2019, and almost 1,400, or 75.2%, more than in 2010.To improve bowel cancer diagnosis, the NHS has implemented timed cancer pathways for gastro-intestinal (GI) disease. This includes the implementation of Faecal Immunochemical Testing for those with symptoms in the lower GI, to prevent these patients from having unnecessary colonoscopies, freeing up capacity for these procedures and ensuring the most urgent symptomatic patients are seen more quickly.

Minimum Wage

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer on 1 February 2024 to Question 11651 on Minimum Wage, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the recommendations relating to minimum wage for early years and elder care in the University of Manchester report entitled Working Futures, published in October 2023.

Helen Whately: The Department has no current plans to make an assessment of the recommendations in the Working Futures report.

Cancer: Research

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she plans to take to help ensure adequacy of funding for cancer research over the next ten years.

Andrew Stephenson: Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £121.8 million in 2022/23 and the NIHR spends more on cancer than any other disease group.In terms of future funding, the NIHR funds research both in response to proposals received from scientists and by identifying areas, like brain cancer, where we want to see more research. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. All research applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition.Future investment in research and innovation is a priority for the Government. We know developments in areas including genomics and artificial intelligence have the potential to transform the experience of cancer, informed by research. The United Kingdom, with its extensive experience of delivering innovative cancer trials, is well placed to integrate research and treatment for the benefit of cancer patients. Innovative trials such as the Galleri blood test and cancer vaccines are already ongoing, and we are investing in crucial research into new treatments, diagnostics, and medical technologies through the NIHR and research funding partners to transform the future of cancer.

Hospitals: Lancaster

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it remains her Department's policy to build a new hospital in Lancaster.

Andrew Stephenson: We remain committed to delivering a new hospital for University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, for the new Royal Lancaster Infirmary. This is alongside our commitment for a new hospital for the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, for the new Royal Preston Hospital.Up until the end of the 2022/23, we provided the trusts with over £11 million in funding to further develop the plans for the new hospitals. Additionally, we have already provided over £450,000 to both trusts in 2023/24 for surveys and land assessments on potential sites for the new hospitals.

Primary Health Care: Finance

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of (a) NHS Capital and (b) District Valuer Services rules in meeting demand for new primary care facilities.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government is backing the National Health Service with significant capital, including £4.2 billion this year in operational capital, which is allocated to integrated care boards (ICBs) to be prioritised locally.Properties leased by general practices are required to be professionally valued by the District Valuer, to ensure that agreed rent levels are in line with market conditions. It is important that these rent levels represent value for money because they will be reimbursed by the local ICBs under the Premises Cost Directions 2013.

Health Services: Finance

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS England's publication entitled Addressing the significant financial challenges created by industrial action in 2023/24, and immediate actions to take, published on 8 November 2023, which Integrated Care System budgets have been reprioritised away from primary care; and how much of those budgets werereprioritised.

Andrea Leadsom: In November 2023, the Department agreed a support package with NHS England that would provide £800 million to integrated care board budgets, to pay for the impact of industrial action in the first half of the year. None of this £800 million was funded from reprioritised primary care budgets.This funding, along with an agreed reduction to elective activity targets for 2023/24 to a national average of 103%, gave local integrated care systems (ICSs) the certainty they needed over their individual financial positions and necessitated refreshed plans for the second half of the year. The letter referred to in the question was the formal commission from NHS England to ICSs to agree refreshed plans for the remainder of the year while protecting key priorities. The letter was clear that primary care plans should protect improvements in access.

Sodium Valproate: Compensation

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure that men who have taken Sodium Valproate receive compensation for (a) fertility and (b) other health effect.

Maria Caulfield: Our sympathies remain with those affected by sodium valproate. The Government is carefully considering the Patient Safety Commissioner’s recommendations as set out in the Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024, and will respond substantively in due course.As part of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s ongoing monitoring of valproate safety, we continue to rigorously review all emerging data on valproate.

Mental Health Services: Floods

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on supporting the mental health and wellbeing of people impacted by flooding.

Maria Caulfield: The Department has responded to the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s inquiry into rural mental health. Further information on the inquiry is available at the following link:https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1627/rural-mental-health/It is important that the right support is in place, including for those affected by flooding. NHS England has clinical guidelines on dealing with major incidents, including on providing psychosocial support for both patients and staff.Talking therapies are available remotely so people can access help safely from home and the National Health Service is working to ensure the option of face-to-face support is provided to people with serious mental health illnesses, across all ages where it is clinically safe to do so.The UK Health Security Agency has published flooding and health guidance to provide information to assist health professionals and public agencies to understand and mitigate the mental health risks posed by flooding. It is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/flooding-health-guidance-and-advice

Department of Health and Social Care: Health and Safety

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether all (a) buildings and (b) workplaces staff from their Department occupy have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department has suitable risk assessments for activities that are undertaken by its staff in our workplaces.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the level of funding available for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Greater Manchester.

Maria Caulfield: No such assessment has been made. It is for individual local commissioners to allocate funding to mental health services, including child and adolescent mental health services, to meet the needs of their local populations. Integrated care boards are expected to continue to meet the mental health investment standard by increasing their investment in mental health services in line with their overall increase in funding for the year. Nationally, overall spend on children and young people’s mental health services has increased from £841 million in 2019/20 to just over £1 billion in 2022/23.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to increase breast cancer screening uptake (a) in general and (b) in (i) areas and (ii) communities where uptake is lowest.

Andrew Stephenson: NHS England has developed a national plan to improve uptake within the breast screening programme, part of which involves interventions to address inequalities and screening barriers. This includes working to ensure that breast screening appointments are as convenient to people as possible and focusing its efforts on low uptake areas and groups. NHS England is also working to ensure they have data, including on protected characteristics, to support services to deliver more targeted initiatives.

Health Services: Veterans

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of existing rehabilitative care for injured veterans.

Maria Caulfield: The National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) is part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, with construction starting in 2023. This new 70-bed facility will benefit all patients including veterans by bringing together patient care, research, innovation, and training and education under one roof.In addition, Op RESTORE has been commissioned by NHS England to act as a comprehensive veterans’ mental and physical health and wellbeing service. It supports individuals who have served in, or are leaving, the British Armed Forces and who have physical health injuries and related medical problems attributed to their time in the Armed Forces. Additionally, in April 2023, a new integrated Op COURAGE service launched which includes access to dedicated support for those presenting with substance misuse and other addictions such as gambling. Access to Op COURAGE is via referral or by direct contact from veterans, with a campaign to raise awareness of Op COURAGE having been launched on 9 January 2024.The Government is providing an additional £10 million to support the Veterans’ Places, People and Pathways Programme to increase support to a significant community of vulnerable veterans throughout the United Kingdom, and to enable it to become self-sustaining.The Government has not made any assessment of the adequacy of existing rehabilitative care for injured veterans, existing treatment services for veterans with alcohol and drug dependency or existing mental health support for veterans who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.The Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Office for Veterans' Affairs engage with Five Eyes international partners to share best practice on research and policy delivery. This engagement covers a wide range of issues relating to veterans including physical health. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not had additional engagement with international partners on rehabilitative care for veterans.

Abortion

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will have discussions with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on the adequacy of the range of stakeholders consulted for the guidance for healthcare staff on Involvement of the Police and External Agencies following Abortion, Pregnancy Loss and Unexpected Delivery it issued on 22 January 2024.

Maria Caulfield: The recent guidance for healthcare staff on the involvement of the police and external agencies following abortion, pregnancy loss, and unexpected delivery, was produced independently by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The Department does not intend to review the stakeholder consultation related to this guidance. Abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance, and it is for Parliament to decide the circumstances under which abortions should take place. The Department’s focus is on patient safety and ensuring the law, as set out in the Abortion Act 1967, is applied to ensure women can access to safe, high-quality services.

Dental Services: North Shropshire

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to increase access to NHS dentistry in North Shropshire constituency.

Andrea Leadsom: Within the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board (ICB), in the 24 months to June 2023, 174,305 adults saw a National Health Service dentist, equal to 43% of the adult population in the ICB. This is higher than the national figure, which was 41% over the same period. In the 12 months to June 2023, 59,704 children saw an NHS dentist in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB, equal to 59% of the child population in the ICB. This is higher than the national figure, which was 53% over the same period.On 7 February 2024 we published Our Plan to Recover and Reform NHS Dentistry. The plan will make dental services faster, simpler and fairer for patients, and will fund around 2.5 million additional appointments. The plan also sets out a number of actions which will improve access for patients, by helping the sector to recover activity more quickly, address underlying issues, and set out the steps needed for longer term reform of the system. As part of the plan, we will also launch a new golden hello scheme for dentists who want to move to those areas which persistently struggle to attract dentists into NHS work.Patients unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through an NHS dental practice are advised to contact NHS 111 for assistance. NHS dentists are now required to update their NHS website profiles regularly, at least every 90 days, to ensure patients have access to up-to-date information on where they can access care.

Dental Services: Contracts

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has plans to reform NHS dental contracts to incentivise dentists to carry out NHS work.

Andrea Leadsom: On 7 February 2024 we published Our Plan to Recover and Reform NHS Dentistry. The plan will make dental services faster, simpler and fairer for patients and will fund around 2.5 million additional appointments, or more than 1.5 million additional courses of dental treatment.The plan also sets out a number of actions to incentivise dentists to carry out National Health Service work. A new patient premium will support dentists to take on new patients, golden hello incentives will encourage dentists into under-served areas, and we will raise the minimum Units of Dental Activity rate to £28 this year, making NHS work more attractive and sustainable.In addition to the changes to the contract which we made in 2022, we are developing further recommendations for dental contract reform to properly reflect the care needed by different patients and more fairly remunerate practices. We expect to develop options for consultation with the dental profession in advance of a further announcement later this year. Any changes would be phased in from 2025 onwards.

Pregnancy: Alcoholic Drinks

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure the adequacy of funding for alcohol treatment programmes for pregnant women.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government recognises that foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) can have a significant impact on the early years of development of children and their life chances. Officials regularly meet with third sector organisations and academics to discuss the risks and impacts of alcohol consumption in pregnancy.While we are not developing a specific FASD prevention strategy, we are taking a wide-ranging approach to reducing alcohol harms. Through the Drug Strategy, we committed an extra £532 million of funding over three years, through to 2024/25, to improve alcohol and drug treatment services. Local authorities are encouraged to develop programmes which provide tailored support to different populations, such as pregnant women. Some £27 million has been invested in establishing specialist alcohol care teams in a quarter of acute hospitals in England with the highest need, and we are providing approximately £300 million in funding to 75 local authorities through the family hubs and Start for Life programme. Family hubs funded through that programme are encouraged to provide full wrap-around support for families and pregnant women, which may include alcohol support services. The Department has recently consulted on the first ever United Kingdom-wide clinical guidelines on harmful drinking and alcohol dependence, which includes guidelines setting out how maternity, alcohol treatment and other healthcare professionals should support pregnant women to reduce or stop their alcohol use as quickly and safely as possible. The consultation closed on 8 December 2023 and a response will be published in due course.

Suicide: Weather

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the impact of extreme weather on suicide risk.

Maria Caulfield: The Department has made no such assessment on the impact of extreme weather on suicide risk.

Mental Health: Weather

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of integrating mental health data with the mapping of predictions of extreme weather events.

Maria Caulfield: The Department has made no such assessment. It is important that the right support is in place, including for those affected by extreme weather events. NHS England has clinical guidelines on dealing with major incidents, including on providing psychosocial support for both patients and staff.Talking therapies are available remotely so people can access help safely from home and the National Health Service is working to ensure the option of face-to-face support is provided to people with serious mental health illnesses across all ages where it is clinically safe to do so.The UK Health Security Agency has published an Adverse Weather and Health Plan to provide information to assist health professionals and public agencies to understand and mitigate the mental health risks posed by adverse weather conditions. It is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adverse-weather-and-health-plan

Dementia: Health Services

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to (a) increase capacity and (b) improve infrastructure in the NHS to help tackle dementia.

Helen Whately: In 2019 we committed to doubling funding for dementia research, to £160 million per year by 2024/25. This will span all areas of research from causes and prevention to treatment and care, delivering evidence to help prevent, diagnose and treat dementia, enabling the best possible care and quality of life for people with dementia.NHS England are assessing the additional scanning, treating and monitoring capacity which would be required if potential new Alzheimer’s treatments are approved and determined to be both cost and clinically effective. This includes securing additional diagnostic capacity, for instance through magnetic resonance imaging, lumbar puncture, and positron emission tomography and computed tomography.

Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department's approach to preventing foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to help raise awareness of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder among (a) young women and (b) girls.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department published a Health Needs Assessment for foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in September 2021, which identified areas of improvement and effective interventions. Subsequently, the Department asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to produce a Quality Standard in England for FASD to help improve diagnosis, care, and awareness, including ensuring that all women are asked about their alcohol intake. It was published in March 2022, and is available at the following link:   https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs204 The United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines published in 2016 provide clear advice to women not to drink alcohol if they are planning for a pregnancy or are pregnant. This message is also included in the patient information leaflet recommended for use when giving brief advice to any adult identified as drinking above low risk levels, and in the National Health Service public-facing health information pages. The guidelines are available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a80b7ed40f0b623026951db/UK_CMOs__report.pdf The Department is currently consulting on the first ever UK clinical guidelines for alcohol treatment. It includes guidelines setting out how maternity, alcohol treatment and other healthcare professionals should support pregnant women to reduce or stop their alcohol use as quickly and safely as possible. Additionally, the Maternity Disparities Taskforce is producing a resource for pre-conception care for women from minority ethnic communities and those living in the most deprived areas. This guidance will include information on drinking in pregnancy.

Home Office

Immigration: Inspections

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what dates he plans to publish the inspections completed by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration on (a) Country of Origin Information – Thematic review of statelessness, (b) Afghan resettlement schemes, (c) ePassport gates, (d) the use of powers to deprive British nationals of citizenship, (e) contingency asylum accommodation for families with children in Northern Ireland, (f) Border Force operations at Portsmouth International Port, (g) Border Force’s fast parcel operations, (h) Border Force practices and procedures in relation to firearms, (i) the use of hotels for housing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, (j) illegal working enforcement activity, (k) country of origin information, Albania and Pakistan, (l) asylum casework and (m) the immigration system as it relates to the social care sector.

Tom Pursglove: The department takes every inspection report seriously and considers the findings and recommendations carefully. This can sometimes mean the publication process is longer than expected. We will publish the reports in due course.

Artificial Intelligence: Disinformation

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in his Department are working on countering deepfake material.

Tom Tugendhat: The Home Office is working closely with law enforcement, international partners, industry and across Government – including with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) as lead Department - to address the risks associated with deepfakes.This includes Home Office teams working across crime and policing, national security, immigration and science and technology as well as the Defending Democracy Taskforce. Work on deepfakes forms part of a wider Home Office programme to manage the risks and opportunities from artificial intelligence.We are unable to provide figures for departmental staff working on deepfakes as headcount is captured according to crime type, or broader work on artificial intelligence, and not broken down into activities specific to deepfakes.

Abortion: Demonstrations

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure that non-statutory guidance on abortion clinic safe access zones around abortion clinics issued by his Department supports the human rights of people with pro-life views.

Chris Philp: The Government respects people’s fundamental rights provided under Article 9 (freedom of thought, religion and belief), Article 10 (freedom of expression) and Article 11 (freedom of association and assembly) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The enforcement of abortion safe access zones must be compliant with the ECHR.The Government has recently consulted publicly on the guidance. We are currently analysing all responses to the consultation, which closed on 22 January, and we will publish the final guidance in due course.

Sexual Harassment

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2024 to Question 8419 on Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023, when he plans to publish the statutory guidance for the Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023.

Laura Farris: We supported the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Act 2023 (sponsored by Rt Hon. Greg Clark MP and Lord Wolfson of Tredegar KC), which makes public sexual harassment a specific offence. As with any new criminal justice legislation, an implementation period is necessary to ensure all processes, systems and guidance are updated – including drawing up the statutory guidance. We are working to ensure the legislation comes into force as quickly as reasonably possible.

Asylum: Religious Freedom

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum applications were granted on the basis of the risk of persecution on religious grounds in each of the last five years.

Tom Pursglove: This information is not recorded in a reportable format.  Information regarding initial decisions on asylum applications, by outcome, is contained within the ASY_D02 tab of the Asylum applications, decisions and resettlement dataset: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).  This does not include the grounds for granting leave to remain in the UK.

Home Office: Health and Safety

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether all (a) buildings and (b) workplaces staff from their Department occupy have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Chris Philp: Yes, the Home Office has a Health and Safety and Fire Management system within which risk assessments are conducted and reviewed appropriately for our buildings and people.The Home Office seeks to comply with all UK Health, Safety and Fire Safety statutory provisions proportionate and relevant to its undertaking.

Asylum: Religion

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who applied for asylum who changed their religious adherence had their claim (a) granted and (b) refused in each of the last five years.

Tom Pursglove: This information is not recorded in a reportable format. Information regarding initial decisions on asylum applications, by outcome, is contained within the ASY_D02 tab of the Asylum applications, decisions and resettlement dataset: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). This does not include information regarding whether the asylum applicant changed their religion.

Visas: Care Workers

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many care workers on the Health and Social Care visa are employed by visa sponsors who are (a) registered with the Care Quality Commission and (b) not registered with the Care Quality Commission.

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many care providers lost their sponsorship license in each quarter since October 2023.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office does not publish data that would cover these requests.However, care workers who are currently sponsored by non-CQC-registered providers will be able to continue working for those providers after the upcoming rules change.

Metropolitan Police: Labour Turnover

Sir Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of newly warranted officers in the Metropolitan Police Force left within their first two years of service in each of the last five years.

Chris Philp: The Home Office does not collect information on the length of service of police officers leaving the police service.The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number of police officer leavers in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-walesInformation on the number of police officers leaving the Metropolitan Police Service, between the years ending 31 March 2007 and 2023, by reason for leaving, can be found in the ‘Leavers Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64ba76662059dc000d5d27c0/open-data-table-police-workforce-leavers-260723.odsVoluntary resignation rates in the Metropolitan Police Service, at around 3%, are low compared to other sectors.

Visas: Health Services and Social Services

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that workers with the Health and Social Care visa are supported to find alternative work if their sponsor has had their licence revoked.

Tom Pursglove: UKVI Compliance Command work with local authorities and the Association of Adult Social Care Directors.Relevant authorities receive prior notification of suspended and revoked sponsors and the numbers of workers affected by a compliance action.This allows time for authorities to relocate workers with other care providers in the area and ensure continuity of care provision.UKVI work proactively with authorities in the timing of revocations and where appropriate delay revocation and cancellation to allow workers the opportunity to find new sponsors.

Domestic Abuse: Weather

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the impact of extreme weather on the risk of intimate partner violence.

Chris Philp: The Home Office has not made any formal assessment on the impact of extreme weather on the risk of intimate partner violence.The prevalence of domestic abuse has remained relatively stable over recent years, but there was a decline seen between the year ending March 2020, a year largely unaffected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and the most recent figure for the year ending March 2023.The government are taking important steps to tackle intimate partner violence, including implementation of the Tackling VAWG Strategy, Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan and the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

Police: Pensions

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he expects pension adjustments for police officers affected by the McCloud judgement to be completed.

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on pension adjustments for police officers affected by the McCloud judgement.

Chris Philp: Neither the policy responsibility nor administrative responsibility for police pension scheme falls to the Department of Work and Pensions. There have, therefore, been no such discussions.The relevant legislation provides that all eligible members will be given a choice to remedy the discrimination set out in the McCloud judgment and that information should be provided to eligible members by 31 March 2025. Adjustments to individual members’ benefits are an administrative matter, and the police pension scheme is locally administered by each of the separate police forces in England and Wales (policing is a devolved matter in Scotland and Northern Ireland).The Home Office has policy responsibility for the police pension scheme but does not have any role in the administration of police pensions. Information on the progress of forces with the remedy process is therefore not held centrally.

Alcoholic Drinks: Scotland

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with his Scottish counterpart on minimum unit pricing for alcohol.

Chris Philp: The Government notes the recent outcome report from Public Health Scotland on minimum unit pricing for alcohol. The Government will continue to monitor emerging evidence relating to minimum unit pricing with interest.

Counter-terrorism: Prisoners

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people referred to Prevent whilst in prison subsequently committed a terror offence in each year since 2015.

Laura Farris: We do not hold data on the number of people referred to Prevent in prison that subsequently committed a terror offence. The below data shows the number of referrals to Prevent from HMPPS since 2015/2016.Table 1: Number of referrals to the Prevent programme from HMPPS each year, 2015/16 to 2022/23Financial year2015/162016/172017/182018/192019/202020/212021/222022/23Number of referrals to Prevent made by HMPPS155283269297373335287267This data is taken from the annual statistical release ‘Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent programme’ which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/individuals-referred-to-prevent HMPPS includes staff working for HM Prison and Probation Service, including Youth Offender Services.

Slavery: China

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had recent discussions with businesses which operate in China on their legal obligations under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his Department will review declarations by UK companies on (a) slave and (b) forced labour in their supply chains.

Laura Farris: Home Office Ministers have not met with businesses which operate in China to discuss the Modern Slavey Act 2015.Under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act, commercial businesses who operate in the UK and have a turnover of £36m or more are required to report annually on the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. The aim of the requirement is to provide transparency, allowing consumers, investors, and civil society to scrutinise business action.In 2021 the Government launched the modern slavery statement registry to bring together modern slavery statements on a single platform and make the data readily available for investors, civil society and consumers. Since launching the online modern slavery statement registry in March 2021, over 12,500 modern slavery statements covering over 43,000 organisations have been submitted to the registry on a voluntary basis.The Government does not routinely review the quality of individual modern slavery statements.

Government Departments: Supply Chains

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure that Departments meet the legal requirements to ensure the prevention of (a) human trafficking and (b) slave labour in supply chains.

Laura Farris: The UK Government’s response to Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking is compliant with both domestic and international obligations, such as those covered under the Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, Modern Slavery Act 2015, Illegal Migration Act 2023 and Nationality and Borders Act 2022.All contracting authorities are strongly encouraged to follow best practice and due diligence outlined in Procurement Policy Note 02/23.Where a supplier is found to have a high or medium risk of having modern slavery in their supply chain, the Government-owned Modern Slavery Assessment Tool is used to identify what a supplier needs to do to tackle that risk.

Department for Transport

Buses: Carbon Emissions

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many zero emission buses had been allocated Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas funding as of 6 February 2024; and how many of those buses (a) have been ordered and (b) are on the road as of that date.

Guy Opperman: The following table presents information on the number of zero emission buses funded through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas 1 (ZEBRA 1) programme by local transport authority. The numbers in this table are not official statistics: they are based on the latest information available and are therefore indicative and subject to change. ZEBRA 1 funding was awarded in March 2022 for local transport authorities except Oxfordshire who received funding in December 2022. Local Transport AuthorityNumber of buses fundedNumber of buses orderedNumber of buses in serviceCambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority303030Kent County Council33330Leicester City Council11611674Warrington Borough Council1051050South Yorkshire Combined Authority27270Norfolk County Council707026North Yorkshire County Council39390Portsmouth City Council & Hampshire County Council62620Blackpool Council9000Nottingham City Council68480Greater Manchester Combined Authority1701700Hertfordshire County Council2700West Midlands Combined Authority12400City of York Council535327West Yorkshire Combined Authority1361190Oxfordshire County Council1591599 1,3091,031166

Motorways: Accidents

Sir Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent comparative assessment his Department has made of the number and proportion of breakdowns in which there is a (a) collision and (b) death on (i) smart and (ii) other motorways.

Guy Opperman: Collisions across all motorway types that involve a stopped vehicles account for 3.9% of all collisions on the strategic road network. The causes of such a stopped vehicle can be due to breakdown or various other reasons. The information sought is not held in the requested format. Breakdown information is not captured by the Department to this level of detail when compared with other road traffic collision data.

A167 (M) and Tyne Bridge: Repairs and Maintenance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has uplifted the Government contribution for the Tyne Bridge and Central Motorway A167 (M) road works from 85% to 100%.

Guy Opperman: The Prime Minister’s ‘Network North’ announcement in early October included the Tyne Bridge and Central Motorway A167 (M) scheme. The Department for Transport are finalising plans for this scheme’s uplift, and the Council will be contacted in due course. All schemes will continue to be subject to the Department's standard business case rules.

Roads: Accidents

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent fatal road accidents in (a) rural and (b) urban areas.

Guy Opperman: Britain’s roads are some of the safest in the world, but we are always looking at ways to help keep drivers and all road users safe. To date, £147.5 million has been allocated to Local Authorities (LAs) in England via the Government's Safer Roads Fund. This has been targeted at improving the safety of over 80 of the most high-risk, rural, and urban ‘A’ roads. The Department for Transport is working closely with Local Authorities (LAs) and the Road Safety Foundation to provide tailored safety interventions specific to each road’s risk; encouraging safe system principles and improving infrastructure for active travel. This scheme is expected to save 2,200 lives over the next 20 years and is already improving safety for all road users.

Bypasses: Middlewich

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an urgent decision on the full business case relating to the Middlewich Eastern Bypass to facilitate the commencement of construction.

Guy Opperman: Officials at DfT are assessing the business case of the scheme and will provide advice on whether to approve it as soon as possible.

Motorcycles: Carbon Emissions

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Motorcycle Industry Association's publication entitled Realising the full potential of zero emission powered light vehicles – a joint action plan for Government and industry, published in February 2022 what steps his Department is taking to improve uptake of mopeds.

Anthony Browne: The Government’s Plug-in Motorcycle Grant encourages early market growth of zero emission powered light vehicles. It has supported the purchase of over 12,000 zero emission powered light vehicles, and according to our registration data, 40.6% of mopeds registered in 2022 were battery electric. All grants remain under continual review to ensure best value for money.

Railways: Standards

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of rail reform on levels of customer satisfaction by 2030.

Huw Merriman: Rail reform is tackling the challenges facing the railways to create a customer-focused, commercially led industry. This should significantly improve customer experience between now and 2030.

Motorcycles: Carbon Emissions

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of Motorcycle Industry Association's proposals to simplify the licensing regime for powered light vehicles.

Anthony Browne: The Government is open to discussing ideas for reform of the existing licensing regime for powered light vehicles known as L category vehicles where they do not compromise safety standards. It is also worth highlighting that driving licensing is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland.

Transport: Carbon Emissions

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which of the commitments in the 2021 Transport Decarbonisation Plan have been (a) completed and (b) abandoned; and when he plans to complete each of the remaining commitments.

Anthony Browne: The Government’s 2021 Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP) set out 78 commitments to support decarbonisation of the UK’s transport system by 2050. Since then, significant progress has been made with over a third of these commitments having been delivered or exceeded within three years. For example, the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate entered into force in January 2024 - the world’s most ambitious national level regulation of its kind. We regularly review our transport decarbonisation policies to ensure they are on track and are committed to publishing our progress and reviewing our net zero pathway at least every five years.

Road Safety Investigation Branch

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when will the Road Safety Investigation Branch be formed.

Guy Opperman: The Government has introduced the Automated Vehicles Bill to Parliament, which includes proposed legislation to enable the creation of a capability within my department to investigate safety incidents involving at least one self-driving vehicle.

Motorcycles: Carbon Emissions

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on delivering the Joint Action Plan on Realising the Full Potential of Zero Emission Powered Light Vehicles.

Anthony Browne: The Government continues to engage with industry to deliver the joint Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) and Zemo Partnership Action Plan where appropriate. To address actions 2 and 3 on growing and developing the supply chain, the Government made up to £350,000 of funding available for research and development projects to grow the zero emission motorcycle supply chain in the UK. The Department is also working with the recently established “Powered Light Vehicle Community” to address action 9 on creating a formal L-category community. In addition, the Department is engaged with the MCIA’s recent licensing review proposals to address action 6 to review minimum testing and licence entitlements for all battery electric L-Category vehicles.

Airports: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he last met representatives of (a) Belfast International, (b) Belfast City and (c) Londonderry airport.

Anthony Browne: DfT Ministers and officials meet regularly with representatives of the airports mentioned and have engaged with all three in the last year. The Secretary of State met with the Belfast City Airport Executive Team on 14 February 2023. This visit to the airport also included a tour of Belfast City Airport’s airside facility and meeting the airport leadership team.

Railways: Educational Visits

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department provides support for rail fares for school trips.

Huw Merriman: All children under 16 receive 50 per cent off most adult fares and, in 2019, we introduced the 16-17 Saver railcard extending this to 16 and 17 year-olds, meaning that a 50 per cent discount is available to children throughout their period of compulsory education and training. Some operators also have dedicated discounts for group travel with some offering substantial savings for groups of 10 or more people.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

South Tees Mayoral Development Corporation

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on the activities of mayoral development corporations of the judgement in the litigation taken by South Tees Development Corporation and South Tees Developments Limited against PD Teesport Limited, with case reference Bl-2021-000461.

Simon Hoare: In line with the practice of successive administrations, it would be inappropriate to comment during legal proceedings.

Council Housing: Homelessness

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to increase the number of council properties to enable local authorities to provide homes for those being made homeless in (a) England, (b) the North East of England and (c) Newcastle upon Tyne.

Jacob Young: As set out previously, the £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country, including social rent.

Members: Correspondence

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to reply to Questions 12395 and12396 on Building Safety Fund tabled on 31 January for answer on 5 February 2024.

Lee Rowley: These have been answered.

Building Safety Fund

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of when building remediation works carried out via the Building Safety Fund will be completed.

Lee Rowley: The Government’s priority is to ensure that residents who live in buildings with unsafe cladding feel safe in their homes, now and in the future.The Building Safety Fund reopened for new applications on 28 July 2022 to meet that demand. The Fund will remain open until all those who need to access it have done so.

Housing: Insurance

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has had discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority on the classification of timber framed homes as non-standard construction materials for insurance purposes.

Lee Rowley: The Department has regular engagement with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the insurance sector on a range of issues, but this has not covered the classification of timber-framed buildings for insurance purposes. The Department is happy to receive further representations on this issue.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Deep Sea Mining: International Cooperation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has made representations to international partners on a moratorium on deep-sea mining.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: On 30 October 2023 the UK Government announced its support for a moratorium on the granting of exploitation licences for deep sea mining projects by the International Seabed Authority (ISA). The UK set out this position to international partners at the 28th Session of the Council at the International Seabed Authority in November 2023. The UK's announcement makes clear that the UK recognises the impacts of deep sea mining are not fully understood and our position is to support research proactively, using UK scientific expertise, to improve international understanding and develop strong and enforceable ISA environmental regulations, standards and guidelines on deep sea mining before any such projects commence.

Defence

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which non-NATO countries the UK has a commitment to defend against external aggression under (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral agreements.

Leo Docherty: The UK has a legal commitment to defend NATO countries against external aggression. There are a number of non-NATO countries with which the UK has bilateral and multilateral agreements and arrangements to consult in the event of attack. In addition, the UN Charter Chapter 7 sets out the inherent right of collective self-defence.

Darfur: Humanitarian Situation

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the humanitarian situation in Zamzam camp in the North Darfur state of Sudan.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is providing £38 million in humanitarian aid to support vulnerable people in Sudan in 2023-2024. UK funded support is being delivered through the UN and other trusted partners, and through this, is providing nutrition, safe drinking water, medical care and shelter, as well as supporting protection services including for those affected by Gender Based Violence (GBV). In the next financial year 2024/2025, the UK bilateral ODA to Sudan will double to £89 million.

Gaza: Israel

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to paragraph 30 of the summary grounds of the Secretary of State in the case of The King (on the application of Al-Haq) v. Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether an assessment of Israel’s compliance with International Humanitarian Law in its military engagement in Gaza has been made under his Department's international humanitarian law compliance assessment process since 29 December 2023.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We regularly review advice about Israel's capability and commitment to International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and act in accordance with that advice. We continue to call for IHL to be respected and civilians to be protected. We continue to urge Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes.

Palestinians: Recognition of States

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions his international counterparts on taking steps to recognise Palestine as a state.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We support a two-state solution that guarantees security and stability for both the Israeli and Palestinian people.We must give the people of the West Bank and Gaza the political perspective of a credible route to a Palestinian state and a new future, which needs to be irreversible. This is not entirely in our gift. But Britain and our partners can help by confirming our commitment to a sovereign, viable Palestinian state, and our vision for its composition. Crucially, we must state our clear intention to grant it recognition, including at the United Nations. That can't come at the start of the process. But it doesn't have to be the very end of the process. Our long-standing position has been that we will recognise a Palestinian State at a time that is most conducive to the peace process.We need to generate momentum now towards a permanent peace. That is why we are pressing for a Contact Group, bringing together the key players, to be set up at once.

UNRWA: Finance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he held with (a) his international counterparts and (b) United Nations organisations before deciding to pause funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are appalled by allegations that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned. We are pausing any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations. The US, Germany, Australia, Italy, Canada, Finland, Switzerland and the Netherlands have also all temporarily paused funding.We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it, including through other UN agencies such as the UN World Food Programme, and UNICEF. We engage regularly with our international and UN partners, including UNRWA, on a wide range of issues relating to the humanitarian situation and the delivery of aid to Gaza.

Taiwan Strait: Air Routes

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in China on changes to the M503, W122 and W123 flight paths around Taiwan Strait.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with the International Civil Aviation Organisation on changes to the M503, W122 and W123 flight paths in the Taiwan Strait.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the recent changes to the M503, W122, and W123 flight paths around Taiwan.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK has regular discussions within the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regarding the importance of communication and coordination in the protection of air safety, especially when it comes to changes to airspace such as this.We do not support any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and have underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait alongside partners in previous G7 Foreign and Development Ministers' and Leaders' communiques.The UK's longstanding policy on Taiwan has not changed. We consider the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through constructive dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion.

Xinjiang: Uyghurs

Neil Coyle: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what his policy is on the use of the term genocide in reference to Uyghurs in Xinjiang province.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: It is the UK Government's longstanding policy that any judgment as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for judicial decision, rather than for the government. We are taking robust action in response to China's human rights violations in Xinjiang regardless. In October 2023, the UK led a joint statement with a record 50 signatories on Xinjiang at the UN, demonstrating a significant number of countries are prepared to call China out for its human rights violations. We have also imposed sanctions, enhanced export controls, provided guidance to businesses, and taken action to tackle forced labour in supply chains. The UK Government also consistently raises human rights violations with the Chinese authorities at the highest levels - the Foreign Secretary last did so during a call with China's Foreign Minister in December 2023.

Disinformation

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what support he plans to provide to international partners to tackle (a) disinformation and (b) misinformation in the next 12 months.

David Rutley: As set out in the Integrated Review Refresh 2023, the FCDO has established a new directorate to increase its capability to assess and respond to the full range of information threats by hostile actors and build international partnerships to work together in tackling these threats.The FCDO has established programmes to challenge Russian disinformation activity in Europe. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, we have enhanced these long-standing capabilities to support partner Governments, independent media and civil societies across Europe to challenge and resist Russia's information manipulation and attempts to fracture unity. We have enhanced our partnership with the Government of Ukraine to help them challenge Russian disinformation domestically and internationally. In the coming 12 months we will continue our partnerships with Ukraine and countries across Europe to tackle Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference.

Colombia: Convention on Biological Diversity

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions the Government has had with the Colombian Government on the UN Biodiversity Conference 2024, to be held in that country in October-November 2024.

David Rutley: Since 2011, Colombia has been one of the largest recipients of UK International Climate Finance and we regularly engage with the Colombian Government on environmental issues. In January, officials from our Embassy in Bogotá spoke with the Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development to offer our support to ensure a successful UN Biodiversity Conference in 2024. We will continue to have discussions with the Colombian Government as they develop their plans for the conference.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Health and Safety

Chris Stephens: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether all (a) buildings and (b) workplaces staff from their Department occupy have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

David Rutley: The FCDO UK estate complies with all relevant aspects of the Health and Safety at Work Act and all regulations derived from that Act including suitable welfare and workplace requirements.

Tucker Carlson

Neil Coyle: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make it his policy to impose Magnitsky sanctions against Tucker Carlson.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The FCDO uses the Magnitsky sanctions regimes to designate those responsible for serious human rights violations and abuses and serious corruption. It is a longstanding policy that we do not comment on future sanctions designations.

Ministry of Defence

Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary: Conditions of Employment

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of employment rights of seafarers in the (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) strives to protect and support all of its seafarers. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) team of 1,700 are employed and administered in accordance with MOD Civil Service parameters, regularly expertly reviewed and subject to independent scrutiny. In addition, the RFA are proactively modernising their suite of policies to exceed the standards of the new Seafarer's Charter.

Veterans Welfare Service: Staff

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the training of Veterans Welfare Service staff.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Veterans Welfare Service staff undergo standard departmental mandatory training and induction, as well as receiving training on specific subject matter relevant to its work from internal and external providers, as required. Training is included within the recommendations of the 2023 Independent Review of UK Government Welfare Services for Veterans (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-independent-review-of-uk-government-welfare-services-for-veterans­) and changes are being implemented in line with this.

Veterans Welfare Service

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the support provided by the Veterans Welfare Service.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Veterans Welfare Service was subject to the Independent Review of UK Government Welfare Services for Veterans (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-independent-review-of-uk-government-welfare-services-for-veterans) which was published in July 2023.The Government response was published via Written Ministerial Statement on 11 December 2023. The Government accepted the principle and intended outcome of all the reviews recommendations and is working through the recommendations, and will provide further detail of how we will meet these via a package of communications in 2024.

Veterans: Identity Cards

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many veterans ID cards have been distributed in each region.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Armed Forces Veteran Card Scheme has had a two-phase rollout. Phase One is complete; all Service leavers since December 2018 automatically receive an HM Forces Veteran Card from Ministry of Defence as part of their discharge process. The attached table shows the total number of Phase One cards distributed in each region.A regional breakdown is not currently available for phase two which extends access to the HM Armed Forces Veteran Card to those who left before December 2018. The new digital application and verification service launched at 00:01 on 28 January 2024 allowing pre-2018 Veterans to apply for the card.  As of Thursday 8 February 2024 a total of 28,882 cards had been dispatched in the Phase 2 roll out. An update to the case management system will provide a regional breakdown on a monthly basis from March 2024.Regional distributed Veterans ID cards (xlsx, 40.7KB)

LGBT Veterans Independent Review

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to publish deadlines for the implementation of recommendations from the LGBT Veterans Independent Review.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to consult LGBT veteran charities and activists on the implementation of the recommendations in the LGBT Veterans Independent Review.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Government has accepted the recommendations of the LGBT Veterans Independent Review, and our committed deadlines can be found in the Government's formal response to the Review: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lgbt-veterans-independent-review-government-response. The Government continues to work at pace to deliver the intent behind the report’s recommendations, and as of 8 February 2024, 26 of the 49 recommendations have already been completed. There is and has been extensive engagement with LGBT veteran charities and activists at both official and Ministerial level, and Defence will continue to engage with LGBT veterans as we deliver the recommendations. Defence encourages those affected to apply for and register their interest in restorative measures by completing an application of interest form on the following page: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/lgbt-veterans-support-and-next-steps.

LGBT Veterans Independent Review

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to facilitate parliamentary scrutiny of the Government's implementation of the LGBT Veterans Independent Review.

Dr Andrew Murrison: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 December 2023 to Question 5980 to the hon. Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbury).Veterans: LGBT+ People (docx, 15.0KB)

Ukraine: Military Aid

David Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support the international response in Ukraine.

James Heappey: The UK continues to galvanise international support for Ukraine. We were the first to send lethal aid before the invasion to Ukraine. £896 million has now been pledged to UK-established International Fund for Ukraine. We continue to deliver a training operation for Ukrainian forces alongside 11 international partners, with more than 60,000 Ukrainians trained since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2014.

Armed Forces

Steve Tuckwell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to recognise the contribution of armed forces personnel.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The largest pay increase in more than 20 years is indicative of the Government’s commitment to our Armed Forces. In addition we will continue to support public facing events such as Armed Forces Day, and respond to concerns from the Defence community on issues like medallic recognition.

Veterans UK

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps Veterans UK has taken to support veterans and their families.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence delivers a range of services to Veterans and their families. This includes the administration and payment of Armed Forces pensions and compensation, the provision of tailored advice and assistance through the Veterans Welfare Service, Defence Transition Services and the Integrated Personal Commissioning for Veterans.

Ministry of Defence: Procurement

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Q113 of the oral evidence by Andy Start to the Committee of Public Accounts on 22 January 2024, HC 451, how much and what proportion of the £560 million has been spent on enhancing the supply chain of chemicals.

James Cartlidge: £125.5 million of the £560 million has been allocated for enhancing the supply chain for energetic materials and energetic components. Of this, £21.2 million has been committed to contract (as at 5 February 2024).

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to British Army press release entitled Army’s top Brass Turns Out in Force to Address the World’s Leading Armoured Vehicle Conference, published on 22 January 2024, which 13 vehicle variants are being removed to streamline the Army’s fleet and improve readiness.

James Cartlidge: The vehicle variants currently identified to be removed from service by 2030 are: AS90StormerWarrior105mm light gunBV206MastiffRidgbackWolfhoundBeach Recovery VehicleHeavy Equipment TransporterFoxhound Protected Patrol VehicleJackalCoyotePinzgauerLandrover (including WMIK/RWMIK variants)Quad bikeWheeled TankerChallenger 2Puma Similarly, on current plans it should be recognised that a number of new platforms and families of vehicles are being introduced such as the New Medium Helicopter, the Boxer family, the Ajax family and the Light Protected Mobility Platform family.

LE TacCIS Programme

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on legal fees relating to the Morpheus programme as of 8 February 2024.

James Cartlidge: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the right hon. Member's Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

HMS Queen Elizabeth

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether HMS Queen Elizabeth will need to be dry-docked following the discovery of issues with the propeller shaft.

James Cartlidge: Following an issue with HMS Queen Elizabeth's (QNLZ) starboard propeller shaft coupling, QNLZ will sail for Rosyth in Scotland for dry-docking in order that any necessary repairs can be carried out.

Destroyers: Defence Equipment

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has conducted (a) trials and (b) research into the feasibility of mounting (i) the Multiple Launch Rocket System and (ii) other similar systems on Royal Navy destroyers.

James Cartlidge: The Royal Navy continually assesses and reviews the available technology and the possibility of integrating different weapons systems into our ships.

Global Combat Air Programme

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding has been (a) allocated and (b) spent on the Global Combat Air Programme Tempest programme as of 6 February 2024.

James Cartlidge: The March 2021 Defence Command Paper reaffirmed that that we will invest more than £2 billion in the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) out to 2025, and we have spent over £1.8 billion so far. This is part of a budget of over £12 billion over the next 10 years. The amount that we ultimately invest will be determined at future decision points.Furthermore, the Ministry of Defence has invested over £1.1 billion in R&D through the Future Combat Air System Technology Initiative (FCAS TI), with a further £600 million from our Team Tempest industry partners to date.

Tomahawk Missiles

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has plans to introduce the Tomahawk missile into the Royal Navy surface fleet.

James Cartlidge: The Future Cruise and Anti-Ship Weapon programme will decide on the future offensive surface weapon used on Royal Navy surface fleet platforms. This Programme is still in the assessment phase and no decision has yet been taken.

Warships: Guided Weapons

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has plans to introduce (a) the Kongsberg missile system or (b) a similar variant to the Royal Navy surface fleet.

James Cartlidge: The Royal Navy currently has one ship, HMS Somerset, fitted with the Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile system. The Royal Navy intend to install this Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare capability to further platforms.

RFA Fort Victoria

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether RFA Fort Victoria is (a) awaiting a refit, (b) working up after a refit and (c) operationally available.

James Cartlidge: RFA Fort Victoria is currently ready to commence a planned maintenance period.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civilian seafarer ratings have been trained by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in each year since 2016.

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Royal Fleet Auxiliary seafarers have been deployed in Operation Prosperity Guardian.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Between 2016 and 2023, 706 seafarers were trained by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), and there are no RFA seafarers currently serving on Operation Prosperity Guardian.

Submarines: Recruitment

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) target and (b) actual number of people recruited for the Submarine Service was in each year since 2010.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Royal Navy does not routinely disclose the trained strength of individual branches or specialisms as to do so could, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability of the Armed Forces.

MOD Chicksands: Housing

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February to Question 12474 on RAF Chicksands: Housing, what plans his Department has to improve the (a) grade three (b) grade four accommodation over the next 12 months.

James Cartlidge: The programme of works commencing in April 2024 is being finalised, but currently includes the refurbishment of kitchen and ablution areas in three single living accommodation (SLA) blocks, which will improve the lived experience. The works are unlikely to raise the blocks above grade three or four as this will require new-build blocks or a full refurbishment programme, which is unlikely to complete before the base is scheduled to close in 2030.

Army: Officers

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Army officers transferred to Intermediate Regular Commissions in each of the last ten years.

James Heappey: The below table shows the Army’s Regular Trade Trained Commission Conversions from Short Service Commissions to Intermediate Regular Commissions (IRC) over the last ten financial years (FY). Commission to IRC Contract TypeFY 2013-14FY 2014-15FY 2015-16 3FY 2016-17FY 2017-18FY 2018-19FY 2019-20FY 2020-21FY 2021-22FY 2022-23IRC Total350230910520530480450460390390Army IRC (Direct Entry)340220870510510450440440360380Army IRC (Late Entry)10103010202020202020Table notes: The figures are for the Trade Trained Regular Army only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, Army Reserve and all other Reserves, but includes those personnel that have transferred from GURTAM to UKTAP. Figures are for those who converted from the SSC to IRC for both Direct Entry and Late Entry officers. During financial year 2015/16 the New Employment Model (NEM) engagement was introduced. This resulted in a number of people moving between commission types. The Joint Personnel Administrative System (JPA) was updated to identify NEM engagements which reduced our ability to identify conversion of commissions. The step change from 2014-15 to 2015-16 was an Army workforce plan which sought to increase the commission conversion rates of officers. Figures exclude promotions from Other Ranks to Officer i.e. Late Entry commissions. Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes; numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. Totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not appear to be the sum of their parts.

Ukraine: Military Aid

Richard Foord: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the recent negotiations in the United States Congress on the allocation of funding for military support for Ukraine, whether he has had recent discussions with his NATO counterparts on the implications for their policies of the United States' potential decision to withdraw military support for Ukraine.

James Heappey: The Secretary of State for Defence regularly holds discussions with his NATO counterparts, including the US, on a range of issues. They will discuss NATO support to Ukraine at the upcoming NATO Defence Ministers Meeting on 15 February. The UK and US together will continue to urge our NATO allies to make the commitments that Ukraine needs to gain a vital edge on the battlefield.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the safety of people in Pakistan previously rejected by the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy who are having applications reconsidered.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the safety of people in Pakistan who (a) have previously had an application to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme rejected and (b) are waiting for their application to be reconsidered.

James Heappey: The UK Government has had constructive and ongoing conversations with the Government of Pakistan to take steps to prevent the deportation Afghans eligible for UK resettlement schemes from Pakistan.I have instructed MOD officials to raise awareness of this issue with the Pakistani authorities so that protection from deportation can be extended to those individuals within scope of the forthcoming reassessment of decisions taken on ineligible applications from former members of Afghan specialist units.

Multi-role Ocean Surveillance Ships

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made on the Multi Role Support Ship programme.

James Cartlidge: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to questions 11950 and 11951 on 7 February 2024.Multi-role Ocean Surveillance Ships (docx, 28.1KB)

RFA Fort Victoria

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the crew complement is of the RFA Fort Victoria.

Dr Andrew Murrison: RFA FORT VICTORIA normally operates with 101 RFA personnel. However, this will vary according to operational requirements and tasking.

RFA Fort Victoria

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the estimated out of service date is for RFA Fort Victoria.

James Cartlidge: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer that was given on 5 July 2023 to Question 191509 to the hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (Mr John Healey).RFA Fort Victoria (docx, 14.6KB)

Aircraft Carriers: Procurement

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the acquisition cost was of each of (a) the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers and (b) their respective air groups.

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the acquisition cost is of (a) a Queen Elizabeth Class carrier, (b) an air group of 24 F-35Bs with merlin helicopters, (c) two type 45 destroyers, (d) two type 23 frigates, (e) one Astute class submarine and (f) other support ships for a Queen Elizabeth Class carrier Battle Group.

James Cartlidge: The acquisition cost of the two Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers was c. £6 billion. The build cost of a Type 45 destroyer was calculated in 2013 to be £633 million (Official Report 2 December 2016 Question 55378). Build costs of the Type 23 frigates varied between £92 and £120 million per ship over the period November 1992 to September 2002. (Official Report 2 July 2013, col. 610w). For the acquisition costs of Astute Class submarines, I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 12 September 2023 to Question 197698. The support ships assigned to a Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier battle group and the composition of the embarked air group are dependent upon the nature of the tasking of the battle group and it is not therefore possible to provide a singular acquisition cost for such supporting shipping or for the air group. F-35B aircraft are procured in batches and the unit price per batch has varied as production has proceeded. There is therefore no single acquisition cost for a group of 24 aircraft as the overall cost will depend on the batch from which each individual aircraft was procured. There is no fixed ratio of F-35B aircraft to Merlin helicopters in a Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier embarked air group. Moreover, two different marks of Merlin helicopter may be embarked dependent on operational requirements. It is not therefore possible to provide a single acquisition cost for the Merlin helicopters that may be embarked with 24 F-35B aircraft. As illustrated by the information provided in respect of Type 23 frigates it is not, for any class of ship or submarine, usually the case that the overall acquisition cost is shared equally across the class. First of Class vessels will incur a range of non-recurring costs that later vessels do not. Variations in price per vessel may also arise from increasing industry efficiency as construction progresses and from detailed changes in specification between vessels of the same class.

Department for Work and Pensions

Access to Work Programme: Medical Examinations

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to quality assure average times taken to make decisions on Access to Work assessments to National Statistics publication standard.

Mims Davies: Access to Work Official Statistics are published annually and show the number of people who had Access to Work provision approved, number of people who received at least one Access to Work payment and Access to Work expenditure. However, the publication does not include average time taken to make decisions as the data on this is not of sufficient quality to meet the standard requirement for an Official Statistics publication. There are currently no plans to quality assure the data to an Official Statistics publication standard. DWP Official Statistics are produced and published in line with the 3 pillars of the Code of Practice for Statistics which are built around three main concepts, or pillars:Trustworthiness – is about having confidence in the people and organisations that publish statisticsQuality – is about using data and methods that produce assured statisticsValue – is about publishing statistics that support society’s needs for information

Vacancies: Bournemouth East

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to fill job vacancies in Bournemouth East constituency.

Jo Churchill: In Bournemouth East, and across the country, our Jobcentre teams are supporting people back into work and helping those in work to progress. We are working with local and national employers to help fill vacancies quickly, delivering Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPS), recruitment days and Job Fairs.

Jobcentres: Bournemouth East

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to expand the support available through Jobcentres in Bournemouth East constituency.

Jo Churchill: The local Jobcentre team are collaborating with a range of partners to support people into work and employers fill vacancies. In addition to hosting Jobs Fairs and delivering Sector-Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPS), they are working with Bournemouth and Poole College, BCP Council, Citizens Advice, Faithworks, Seetec Pluss, Aspire Training, Skills & Learning, International Care Network, Parks in Mind, the Boscombe Towns Fund and a plethora of other partners and organisations. We have SWAPs that are either active or planned in Facilities Management, Hospitality, IT and Communications, Education, Construction, Security, Manufacturing, Administration and the Civil Service through a range of local providers.

Household Support Fund

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has undertaken an equality impact assessment on the potential effects of (a) reducing and (b) ending the Household Support Fund in March 2024.

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has with (a) the Local Government Association and (b) leaders of local authorities on the potential merits of extending the Household Support Fund beyond March 2024.

Jo Churchill: The Government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way. Equality analysis was considered as part of the decision to implement the current Household Support Fund, which runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024.

Department for Work and Pensions: Health and Safety

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether all (a) buildings and (b) workplaces staff from their Department occupy have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Paul Maynard: The Department for Work and Pensions has suitable and sufficient risk assessments in place across the Department in accordance with Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. There is a suite of generic risk assessments, which include building and people related hazards, used to manage and mitigate people safety risks across the Department. Where hazards are identified for a certain process or procedure not captured within the generic documents, these are included via specific risk assessments. Suitable and sufficient risk assessments relating to the DWPs estate are completed whenever significant hazards are identified or where risk assessment is required by statute.

Workplace Pensions: Regulation

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions during the debate on Defined-Benefit Pension Schemes of 17 January 2024 Official Report, column 329WH, whether the Minister has had discussions with the Pensions Regulator.

Paul Maynard: I know this is an important issue for many people and I am intending to meet with the Pensions Regulator when diaries allow. This will help me to look at the situation, try to understand what has happened and take a view on whether the arrangements currently in place are working as intended.

Agriculture: Health and Safety

Sarah Dyke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help improve workplace safety on farms.

Paul Maynard: The safety and health of people at work in agriculture is a concern to the Heath and Safety Executive (HSE) and the industry. HSE has a long-term strategy to drive up industry ownership of the challenge and influence farmer behaviour. Since 2018 we have had an annual programme of delivering training to farmers in advance of targeted proactive inspection. This sits alongside specific interventions on transport, cattle, and falls: the three main areas responsible for farm workplace deaths. HSE continues engagement activity with a full range of stakeholders through the Farm Safety Partnerships. The latest work has covered child safety, management of cattle in fields with public rights of way, safe use of quad bikes and farm transport. HSE regularly holds formal consultation with the industry about its initiatives through an industry advisory committee.

Cost of Living Payments: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many families in Northern Ireland will receive the cost of living payment as a result of being in receipt of low-income benefits in February 2024.

Jo Churchill: Social Security is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland.

Department for Business and Trade

Iron and Steel: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent representations she has received from the Welsh government on the future of the steel industry in Wales.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Steelmaking remains a vital part of the Welsh economy and this Government is working tirelessly to secure a sustainable future for Port Talbot Steelworks. This deal delivers a £1.25 billion pound joint investment package with Tata, comprising of £500 million pounds from the UK Government. The Welsh Government are not currently providing capital funding towards this project. The Transition Board; established to support affected employees and the local economy has up to £100m of funding. Over the last month, I have engaged with the Welsh government through the Transition Board and a ministerial call.

Iron and Steel: Port Talbot

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Secretary of State for Wales’s oral contribution of 23 January 2024 during the debate on Protecting Steel in the UK, Official Report, column 265, whether her Department has (a) undertaken and (b) commissioned an independent assessment of the potential merits of the multi-union plan for steel production at Port Talbot.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Tata Steel are now conducting a formal consultation period with staff regarding the company’s proposed £1.25 billion pound project to transition to greener steelmaking at Port Talbot.Prior to this, Tata Steel have been discussing Union’s alternative proposals with them for several months. Ultimately, this is a commercial decision for Tata Steel and engagement with trade unions has always been a process that must be led by the employer.We are working with Tata Steel to provide up to £100 million pounds funding for a dedicated Transition Board, which includes members from the Welsh Government, to support both affected employees and the local economy.

Electric Bicycles and Electric Scooters: Batteries

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many people have been prosecuted for selling unsafe battery-charged (a) e-bikes and (b) e-scooters in the last 12 months.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is leading work to address risks from lithium-ion batteries used in e-bikes or e-scooters including prioritising removal of any unsafe or non-compliant products from the market. For example, last month OPSS issued Withdrawal Notices to stop 20 sellers and 5 online marketplaces from selling batteries linked to serious fires. OPSS also works closely with Local Authority Trading Standards including through a co-ordinated system of product safety checks at the border.We are not aware of any product safety prosecutions relating to these products that have been brought to date, but prosecution remains an option for any serious breaches of product safety law.

Tractors: Electric Vehicles

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she will make an assessment of the potential impact of tariffs on battery electric truck tractors on net zero targets.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The UK's trade policy is intended to support the achievement of government objectives and is kept under review. The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles works across government to support the transition to zero emission vehicles. Zero Emission vehicles will help the UK decarbonise and Government remains committed to the Net Zero 2050 target.

Forced Labour: China

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that the supply chains of UK car manufacturers do not include Uyghur slave labour.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Modern slavery is a barbaric crime which we are determined to stamp out. In 2022, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights published its assessment of the human rights situation in Xinjiang, which found that China had carried out “serious human rights violations” against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities.Section 54 of The UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires businesses with a turnover of £36m or more to publish modern slavery statements and statements from relevant UK car manufacturers are available at https://modern-slavery-statement-registry.service.gov.uk. We have set out clear guidance for businesses on the risks of doing business in Xinjiang and announced plans to introduce financial penalties for organisations who fail to meet their statutory obligations to publish annual modern slavery statements.I have requested meetings with named manufacturers in the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report entitled ‘Asleep at the Wheel: Car Companies' Complicity in Forced Labor in China’, published in February 2024, to discuss this issue in more detail.

Forced Labour: China

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has taken steps in response to the findings in the Human Rights Watch report entitled Asleep at the Wheel: Car Companies' Complicity in Forced Labor in China, published on 1 February 2024.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of the findings of the report entitled China: Carmakers Implicated in Uyghur Forced Labor, published by Human Rights Watch on 1 February 2024 that car manufacturers including Tesla and Toyota are using Uyghur slave labour.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Modern slavery is a barbaric crime which we are determined to stamp out. In 2022, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights published its assessment of the human rights situation in Xinjiang, which found that China had carried out “serious human rights violations” against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities.The Government’s overseas business risk guidance sets out the risks of operating in Xinjiang and urges UK companies to conduct appropriate due diligence and consider their corporate responsibilities when making business decisions. The Department for Business and Trade is continuing to consider actor agnostic measures that would improve supply chain transparency and traceability. I have requested meetings with named manufacturers in the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report to discuss this issue in more detail.

Department for Business and Trade: Written Questions

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when she plans to respond to Question 9354 tabled by the hon. Member for Gower on 12 January 2024 on Horizon IT System.

Kevin Hollinrake: A response was published on 7 February. The Department apologises for the delay in publishing this response.

Sales: Research

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will publish a response to the Competition and Markets Authority’s research entitled Summary of consumer research and unit pricing analysis, published on 30 January 2024.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government published its response to each of the recommendations made by the Competition and Markets Authority on 24 January 2024, in the Government’s response to its consultation entitled ‘Smarter Regulation: improving price transparency and product information for consumers’. The response sets out the Government’s intention to reform pricing legislation to make pricing information clearer and more useful to consumers. The Government will continue to have due regard to the Competition and Markets Authority’s publications whilst reforming pricing legislation.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Government response: British Industry Supercharger Network Charging Compensation Scheme, updated by her Department on 11 October 2023, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government laid The Energy-Intensive Industry Electricity Support Payments and Levy Regulations 2024 Statutory Instrument in Parliament on 22nd January 2024, which will be debated once Parliamentary time allows.

Export Credit Guarantees

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many loan facilities under the Export Development Guarantee Scheme have been guaranteed by UK Export Finance up to 100% in each of the last five financial years.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, for what reason UK Export Finance would provide a 100% guarantee on lending to company under the Export Development Guarantee.

Greg Hands: UK Export Finance (UKEF) has not previously 100% guaranteed any Export Development Guarantee (EDG) facilities. In principle, consideration can be given to guarantee percentages above 80% where this is needed to ensure the success of the transaction, subject to ensuring that the guaranteed loan meets UKEF’s requirements including compliance with applicable subsidy control rules.

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems: Arms Trade

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has received legal advice on the operations of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd at sites in the UK; and if she will conduct a review to ensure that imports and exports of arms and components are not being used in violations of international law.

Greg Hands: All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against our Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, including with regard to international humanitarian law. All licences are kept under careful and continual review and the Government is able to amend, suspend, refuse or revoke licences as circumstances require. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade receives legal advice as appropriate, on all matters related to import and export licensing, as part of advice from officials.

Leader of the House

Arms Trade: Parliamentary Scrutiny

Imran Hussain: To ask the Leader of the House, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to increase parliamentary scrutiny of UK strategic export controls for military goods.

Penny Mordaunt: The government recognises the importance of effective Parliamentary scrutiny of strategic export controls and takes these matters very seriously. The UK operates one of the most transparent export licensing systems in the world, publishing quarterly and annual statistics on all of our export licensing decisions, including details of export licences granted, refused and revoked. The government is required by statute to present an Annual Report on UK Strategic Export Controls detailing the government’s approach to export licensing, including international commitments. The most recent quarterly data on strategic export controls is available on gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/strategic-export-controls-licensing-statistics-1-april-to-30-june-2023), as is the annual report for 2022 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-strategic-export-controls-annual-report-2022).As of January 2024, the Business and Trade Committee is the Parliamentary scrutiny committee with oversight of arms export controls, a role formerly carried out by the Select Committee on Arms Exports Controls (CAEC). A joint report outlining plans for future parliamentary scrutiny of strategic export controls was published by the Business and Trade, Foreign Affairs and International Development Committees on 23rd January 2024 and can be found on parliament.uk (https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/42982/documents/213812/default/).The Government recognises the important role that the CAEC played in providing Parliamentary scrutiny of export controls and the work of the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU). While Parliamentary scrutiny is a matter for the House, the government is committed to keeping the Business and Trade Committee updated on the work of the ECJU as it carries out its new scrutiny role. Other relevant select committees will no doubt continue to examine strategic export controls as part of their wider work, allowing a broad range of scrutiny across the House.Hon and Rt Hon Members can also raise matters relating to the scrutiny of the UK's strategic export controls directly with the Department for Business and Trade.

Department for Education

Childcare

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2024 to Question 11047 on Childcare, what measure her Department uses to establish the requirements of local authorities for childcare places.

David Johnston: Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. The statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents.The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing.Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, the department discusses what action the local authority is taking to address those issues and provides support where needed, to help the local authority with any specific requirements through its childcare sufficiency support contract.

Pupils: Autism and Disability

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to help ensure that new school buildings are designed so as to enable students with (a) physical disabilities, (b) mental disabilities and (c) autism spectrum conditions to be included in the (i) curriculum and (ii) life of the school; and what steps her Department has taken to assist schools to adapt existing buildings.

David Johnston: The department’s ambition is for all children and young people, no matter what their special educational needs and disabilities are, to receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.All school building projects that are delivered by the department must meet the requirements set out in the department’s school building specification. The department publishes a range of guidance specifically for the construction of special schools, which support the provision of inclusive learning environments including access, acoustics and specialist Special Educational Needs provision. These are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/school-design-and-construction.More generally, all new school buildings must meet the requirements of the Building Regulation’s Approved Document: M, which sets out the details on access to and use of buildings. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-to-and-use-of-buildings-approved-document-m.The department does not publish specific guidance on how to adapt existing schools. Under the Equality Act 2010, schools must make reasonable adjustments to prevent pupils with special educational needs and disabilities being put at a substantial disadvantage. Additionally, under the Children and Families Act 2014, mainstream schools must use their best endeavours to make sure a child or young person who has special educational needs and disabilities, including those who are autistic, get the special educational provision they need.To support the adaptation of existing buildings, the department has allocated over £1.5 billion of High Needs Provision Capital for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years. This funding forms part of the department’s transformational investment of £2.6 billion in new high needs provision between 2022 and 2025. Local authorities can use this funding to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings, and to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings.

Higher Education: Finance

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report entitled Financial Sustainability of the UK Higher Education sector, published in January 2024.

Robert Halfon: This response assumes that the report referenced is PwC’s UK Higher Education (HE) Financial Sustainability Report, which was commissioned by Universities UK. Departmental officials have met with Universities UK to discuss the findings of this report.The PwC report cites similar risks to those identified by the Office for Students (OfS), which is the independent regulator of HE in England responsible for monitoring the financial sustainability of registered HE providers. The latest report by the OfS on the financial health of the sector, which was published in May 2023, can be accessed at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/0b7d9daa-d6c7-477e-a0b2-b90985d0f935/financial-sustainability-report-2023-updated-june-2023.pdfThe department continues to work closely with the OfS, HE representative bodies and other government departments, as appropriate, to understand the financial sustainability of the sector.In the aforementioned OfS report on the financial health of the HE sector, the OfS stated that the overall aggregate financial position of the sector is sound. However, there continues to be significant variation between individual providers, both across the sector and within peer groups.The department consistently assesses the potential implications for any policies that could impact the HE sector, including financially, and particularly with respect to the interests of students.It is important to note that HE providers are autonomous and, as such, it is for them to decide effective business models in order to adapt to financial risks. All HE providers should be stress testing their financial plans to ensure they are fit for purpose and that they do not rely on optimism around student recruitment.

Special Educational Needs: Autism

Sarah Dyke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made a recent assessment on the level of (a) training and (b) guidance provided to teachers on autism in girls.

Damian Hinds: The department is committed to ensuring that all pupils can reach their potential and receive excellent support from their teachers. Therefore, consideration of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) underpins both the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework (CCF) and Early Career Framework (ECF) which set out the entitlement of trainee teachers and early career teachers (ECTs) to the core body of knowledge, skills and behaviours that define great teaching. To identify opportunities to build teacher expertise, the department reviewed the CCF alongside the ECF during 2023, combining an Education Endowment Foundation-assured review of the ‘Learn that’ statements and underpinning CCF and ECF evidence with evaluation data, lessons learned from the first years of implementation, and extensive expert and sector feedback including from SEND specialists. This included a public call for evidence. Following this review, the updated and combined Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) was published on 30 January 2024, for delivery from September 2025.The department's review of content for the ITTECF paid particular attention to the needs of trainees and ECTs when supporting pupils with SEND. The ITTECF is based on the best peer-reviewed evidence about what works, and it is designed to emphasise the importance of high-quality teaching. The framework therefore deliberately does not detail approaches specific to particular additional needs, such as autism, but what makes the most effective teaching. During the review, the department tested this approach with SEND educational experts, with consensus that the approach of ‘quality-first teaching’ would be the best way to improve outcomes for all children, particularly those with Special Educational Needs.The department’s Universal Services contract brings together SEND-specific training and support for staff working in schools and further education. It aims to improve outcomes for children and young people through one programme which reaches 70% of schools and colleges in England per year. The contract offers autism awareness training and resources, which align with the national all-age autism strategy and its ambition to improve autistic children and young people’s access to education and support positive transitions into adulthood. Over 135,000 professionals have undertaken autism awareness training since the Universal Services programme began in May 2022. More information on the strategy can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-strategy-for-autistic-children-young-people-and-adults-2021-to-2026.The large majority of pupils diagnosed with autism as their primary type of need are boys. However, there is emerging research and awareness on the different presentation of autism traits according to gender and the late, under and misdiagnosis of girls and women. This gender imbalance is greater for autism than for any other primary type of need. To help raise awareness of this imbalance, the Universal Services autism awareness training addresses autism in girls and helps education staff understand more about how autism may present differently in girls.

Universities: Finance

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that funding allocated to universities for teaching for 2024-25 sufficiently enables institutions to support their students.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that funding allocated to universities for teaching for 2024-25 enables institutions to provide high quality education that meets national skills needs.

Robert Halfon: The Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) is funding which is supplied by the government on an annual basis to support teaching and students in higher education (HE). This funding also includes subjects that are expensive to deliver, such as science and engineering, students who are at risk of discontinuing their studies, and world-leading specialist providers. ​The department is investing hundreds of millions of pounds in additional funding over the three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25. This is to support high-quality teaching and facilities including funding for science and engineering, subjects that support the NHS, and degree apprenticeships. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the HE sector to support students and teaching in over a decade. In the 2023/24 financial year, over half of the total £1,454 million SPG recurrent funding budget is being directed towards the provision of high-cost subjects that support the NHS and wider healthcare policy (for example, medicine and dentistry), science, engineering, and technology subjects, and specific labour market needs. There is also £276 million of Student Premium and mental health funding available this academic year, 2023/24, to support students who need additional help, including disadvantaged students. This funding complements the help universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship and hardship support schemes. The department is now making a further £10 million of one-off support available to support student mental health and hardship funding. It will continue to liaise with the Office for Students on the impacts of cost-of-living pressures. Over the three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25, the department is also providing £450 million in capital funding to invest in teaching and learning facilities which meet the government’s strategic priorities. The next SPG allocations will be announced ahead of the 2024/25 academic year.

Foster Care: Allowances

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the implementation of the increase in foster carers allowances announced in February 2023.

David Johnston: Every year, the Department for Education (DfE) works with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to review the allowance and consider any changes in inflation and affordability for local government.In February 2023, the DfE raised the National Minimum Allowance (NMA) for foster carers by 12.43% for the 2023/24 financial year. The DfE has also raised the NMA by 6.88% for the 2024/25 financial year. Both allowances are above the rate of inflation and demonstrate the government’s commitment to supporting foster carers.The DfE expects all local authorities to pay at least the NMA, to ensure that foster carers are never financially disadvantaged by their fostering role.The duty to pay this allowance is set out in the Fostering National Minimum Standards, issued under the Care Standards Act 2000. All carers should receive the allowance, along with any other agreed expenses to cover the full cost of caring for each child placed with them.In December, I wrote to all local authorities reminding them of this duty and the expectation to pay.

Pre-school Education: Pupil Premium

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2024 to Question 12562 on Pre-school Education: Pupil Premium what estimate she has made of the number and proportion of children who will become eligible for the 15 hours childcare entitlement in (a) April and (b) September 2024 that will also be eligible for the Early Years Pupil Premium.

David Johnston: The Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) gives providers additional funding to support disadvantaged children.EYPP is currently available for 3 and 4 year olds eligible for the early years’ entitlements.Parents may also get EYPP if their child is currently being looked after by a local authority in England or Wales, or if their child has left care in England or Wales through adoption, special guardianship order or a child arrangement order.From April 2024, EYPP will be extended to all eligible 2 year olds, and from September 2024 to all eligible children aged 9 months to 3 years old.On 19 December 2023, the department published indicative EYPP allocations for local authorities for 2024/25 as part of the wider Dedicated Schools Grant publication, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2024-to-2025.The published tables include estimated numbers of children aged 9 months up to and including 2 year olds who the department anticipates will take up EYPP in 2024/25. This includes estimated part-time equivalents for EYPP.Further details on how the department has calculated these estimates are set out in the following document: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2024-to-2025/dsg-technical-note-2024-to-2025.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to to her Answer on 6 February 2024 to Question 12559 on Special Educational Needs: Finance, when her Department will (a) complete and (b) publish their assessment of the Special Educational Needs Inclusion Funds (SENIFs) arrangements.

David Johnston: As confirmed in the government’s response on 20 September 2023 to the consultation on expanding the early education entitlements, the department is conducting a review of the Special Educational Needs Inclusion Funds (SENIF) funding arrangements, so that the department can better support parents, providers and local authorities as the expanded entitlements are rolled out.At the completion of this review, the department will consider what information is most appropriate and helpful for the sector in their delivery of SENIFs. The department will look to draw examples of best practice together, with a view to sector-wide dissemination.

Special Educational Needs: Training

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of special educational needs training given to teachers and staff at comprehensive schools in Greater Manchester.

David Johnston: The department does not perform teacher performance evaluation at the local level. The Teachers’ Standards sets out the minimum level of practice expected of teachers who are awarded qualified teacher status (QTS). To be awarded QTS at the end of Initial Teacher Training (ITT), trainees must demonstrate that they have met all the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level. The standards are also used to assess the performance of all teachers with QTS under the School Teachers’ Appraisal Regulations (2012). Therefore, most teachers need to adhere to the standards throughout their careers.All teachers are teachers of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and the department is committed to ensuring that all pupils can reach their potential and receive excellent support from their teachers. The Teachers’ Standards set clear expectations that teachers must understand the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND. Consideration of SEND underpins both the ITT Core Content Framework and Early Career Framework (ECF), which were both produced with the support of sector experts. ITT courses and ECF-based programmes are designed so that new teachers can demonstrate that they meet the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level. This includes the requirement in Standard 5, that all teachers must have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils.To pass statutory teacher induction, early career teachers must demonstrate that they meet the Teachers' Standards through a formal assessment, signed off by their headteacher and independently checked by their appropriate body. Ofsted is responsible for inspecting ITT partnerships and ECF lead providers in line with published inspection frameworks.Headteachers use their professional judgement to identify any further training, including specific specialisms, for individual staff that is relevant to them, the school, and its pupils. To further support the needs of pupils with SEND, particularly in mainstream settings where most of these learners are educated, the department has funded the Universal Services programme. The Universal Services programme, backed by almost £12 million in funding, will help the school and further education (FE) workforce to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND earlier and more effectively.National Standards will improve mainstream education through setting standards for early and accurate identification of needs, and timely access to support to meet those needs. The standards will include clarifying the types of support that should be ordinarily available in mainstream settings and who is responsible for securing the support. This will help families, practitioners and providers understand what support every child or young person should be receiving from early years through to FE, no matter where they live or what their needs are.

Apprentices

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of apprentices completed their endpoint assessment (a) on the date of, (b) one to three months after, (c) three to six months after and (d) more than six months after completing their apprenticeship in each academic year since 2016-17.

Robert Halfon: The attached table shows achievers, rounded to the nearest 100, on apprenticeship standards in each academic year since 2019/20. Data is unavailable for the preceding years as the achievement date was not collected as part of the department’s individual learner records prior to the 2019/20 academic year.To note, achievements totals may not match published standards achievements totals as the attached table does not include those where an invalid achievement date was entered.13301_table_attachment (xlsx, 23.1KB)

Secondary Education: Veterans

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of employing veterans as mentors in secondary schools to help tackle (a) persistent absenteeism and (b) disruptive behaviour in classrooms.

Damian Hinds: The department recognises the valuable skills and experience that former military personnel can bring to the education sector.The undergraduate veteran teaching bursary provides financial support to eligible veterans who are studying for a degree with qualified teacher status in secondary subjects that are in high demand, such as biology, chemistry, computing, languages, mathematics, or physics. The bursaries are worth £20,000 in each of the last two years of the course and are available to veterans who have left the armed forces within the last five years or are due to leave within the next two years.Graduate veterans are also eligible to access generous bursaries in priority subjects via postgraduate Initial Teacher Training routes, alongside other graduates.The department does not have plans, at this stage, to look to employ veterans as mentors to support better behaviour and attendance in school. The department is currently delivering an attendance mentoring pilot which is designed to test and evidence effective practice for improving attendance through individual support and targeted family engagement. The pilot, which is delivered by Barnardo’s, involves mentors supporting a group of persistently absent pupils and their families on a one-to-one basis to help identify and address their barriers to education. The pilot is currently being evaluated to improve the existing evidence base on the effectiveness of this style of attendance intervention. The information from this pilot will then be published to help inform both school and local authority practice.

Apprentices

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2024 to Question 12581 on Apprentices, when her Department plans to publish the National Achievement Rate Tables for the 2022-23 academic year.

Robert Halfon: I refer the honourable member to the answer of 20 October 2023 to Question 199983.

Special Educational Needs: Transport

Sir Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department collects data on the amount spent by local authorities on taxis used to transport children with an education, health and care plan to and from school.

Damian Hinds: The government does not collect the specific information requested. The legal responsibility for providing free home-to-school travel for eligible pupils sits with local authorities, who will hold any data available on the amount spent on taxis for children with an Education, Health and Care plan.However, the government does publish local authority expenditure data based on Section 251 outturn returns, which includes total expenditure on home-to-school travel for children of compulsory school age where the travel is agreed for reasons of the child’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Local authorities spent a total of £1.25 billion in the 2022/23 financial year on this type of home-to-school travel. The data is available via the following link: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/la-and-school-expenditure.

Work Experience

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students in full-time education have completed a work experience placement of (a) five days and (b) more than five days in each academic year since 2010-11.

Robert Halfon: The careers statutory guidance makes it clear that schools and colleges should offer every young person at least one experience of a workplace by age 16 and a further experience by age 18. This captures a range of activities such as job shadowing, workplace visits and volunteering. This guidance is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-guidance-provision-for-young-people-in-schools.Data on experiences of the workplace is captured by the Careers and Enterprise Company and their latest findings are available at: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/our-evidence/evidence-and-reports/insight-briefing-gatsby-benchmark-results-2022-2023/. This data is based on a national dataset of 4,534 state-funded secondary schools and colleges. In the 2022/2023 academic year, 68% of schools reported that the majority of students had some experience of the workplace by the end of year 11, and over 77% of schools reported that their students had experience of workplaces in year 12 or year 13.At post-16, pupils have access to work placement opportunities through the T level programme. T levels are designed to equip students for skilled employment, whilst also providing a high-quality route to further study, including apprenticeships, higher technical education and degree level study. The programme includes a T level industry placement where students spend a minimum of 315 hours working with external employer(s), which equates to approximately 45 days. Since T levels were first introduced in 2020, 94% of the 2020 cohort and 94.9% of the 2021 cohort have completed their industry placement. This is a total of 4250 students who have successfully completed their industry placements.

Special Educational Needs

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the availability of appointments for education, health and care plan assessments.

David Johnston: Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to assess whether children and young people have Special Educational Needs which require an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. EHC plans must be issued within twenty weeks of the needs assessment commencing so that children and young people can access the support they need. In 2022, there were 114,482 requests for an EHC needs assessment and 72,695 assessments took place. The number of assessments has been increasing year on year since EHC plans were introduced. As of January 2023, 517,049 children and young people have EHC plans.Where local authorities are failing to deliver consistent outcomes for children and young people with Special Educational Need and Disabilities (SEND), the department works with them using a range of improvement programmes and SEND specialist advisors to address weaknesses. Stockport is one of a number of local areas where the department is monitoring their EHC plan performance. The department is working with Stockport to improve their EHC plan quality as one of the key actions in the Local Area Partnerships ‘Accelerated Progress Plan’ following their most recent Ofsted Care Quality Commission inspection.

Students: Loans

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to increase the (a) student loan and (b) postgraduate loan repayment thresholds in line with (i) inflation and (ii) the national living wage.

Robert Halfon: As education, including higher education and student finance, is a devolved matter, this department is responsible for student finance in England only.The student finance and funding system must provide value for money for all of society at a time of rising costs. It is important that a sustainable student finance system is in place, that is fair to students and fair to taxpayers.The department has frozen maximum tuition fees for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. By the 2024/25 academic year, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven successive years.The mechanism for setting repayment thresholds for student loans is set out and governed by the Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2009 (as amended). This includes provision for annual adjustments, where applicable.The department will continue to keep the terms of the student finance system under review to ensure that they keep delivering value for money for both students and taxpayers.

Schools: Mental Health and Neurodiversity

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure a knowledge of (a) mental health and (b) neurodiversity among (i) school teachers and (ii) school students.

Damian Hinds: The department is committed to ensuring that all pupils can reach their potential and receive excellent support from their teachers. The Teachers’ Standards sets clear expectations that teachers must understand the needs of all pupils, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Consideration of SEND underpins both the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework (CCF) and Early Career Framework (ECF) which were both produced with the support of sector experts. ITT courses and ECF-based programmes must be designed so that new teachers can demonstrate that they meet the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level. This includes the requirement in Standard 5, that all teachers must have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils.The department reviewed the CCF alongside the ECF during 2023, in partnership with the Education Endowment Foundation and groups of sector experts, including SEND specialists. This included a public call for evidence. Following this review, the updated and combined Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) was published on 30 January 2024, for delivery from September 2025.The department’s review of content for the ITTECF paid particular attention to the needs of trainees and early career teachers (ECTs) when supporting pupils with SEND. There is now significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND. The department has also made edits to existing statements to improve inclusivity for SEND throughout the framework, including new content for trainees and ECTs on who to contact to provide support with any pupil mental health concerns.The department is also offering all state schools and colleges a grant to train a senior mental health lead by 2025, enabling them to introduce effective whole school approaches to mental health and wellbeing. Over 14,400 settings have claimed a grant so far, including more than 7 in 10 state-funded secondary schools, and the department has also recently made available second grants for settings who have lost their trained lead. The department’s quality assured training course provides the practical knowledge and skills to implement a whole school or college approach to promoting mental wellbeing. The course also helps senior mental health leads to facilitate the development of school staff, to ensure that all staff can recognise and understand the process to respond to mental health concerns.The department has also recently launched two new resources to help trained mental health leads and wider school and college staff to promote and support pupil mental health, both of which are hosted on the Mentally Healthy Schools site. The resource hub signposts practical resources and tools to embed whole-school or college approaches and the targeted mental wellbeing toolkit gives practical advice and tools to help schools and colleges identify the most effective targeted support options for their setting. They are both available here: https://mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/whole-school-or-college-resources/.The department wants to support all young people to be happy, healthy and safe. The department wants to equip them for adult life and to make a positive contribution to society. That is why the department has made Relationships Education compulsory for all primary school pupils, Relationships and Sex Education compulsory for all secondary school pupils from September 2020, and Health Education compulsory for pupils in all state-funded schools. In Health Education, there is a strong focus on mental wellbeing, including a recognition that mental wellbeing and physical health are linked. It is important that pupils understand that good physical health, for both men and women, contributes to good mental wellbeing. The purpose of teaching pupils about mental health is to give them the information they need to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing, recognise issues in themselves and others and, when issues arise, seek support as early as possible from appropriate sources.

Apprentices

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people applied for an apprenticeship in each academic year since 2016-17.

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeship spaces were available in each academic year since 2016-17.

Robert Halfon: Apprenticeships offer a high-quality and popular route into nearly 700 occupations from entry level to expert roles. The table below shows the number of apprenticeship vacancies that were advertised and the number of apprenticeship applications that were submitted through the ‘Find An Apprenticeship’ (FAA) service in each academic year from 2016/17 to 2022/23. Due to the data protection policy in place prior to 2021/22, the department does not hold an accurate record of the number of applications submitted between 2016/17 and 2020/21.Academic yearVacancies advertisedApplications submitted  2016/17185,160N/A 2017/18173,520N/A 2018/19151,7207,950 2019/2098,53016,990 2020/21134,460360,100 2021/22189,430681,090 2022/23148,720669,450  Employers can choose to advertise apprenticeship vacancies through their own websites, recruitment agencies or local job centre instead of, or in addition to, the FAA service. As a result, the actual number of apprenticeship vacancies and applications will be higher.Apprenticeship vacancies can now be browsed on the University and Colleges Admissions Service website and later this year they will also be able to use the service to apply for apprenticeships. In January 2024, the department also launched the ‘It all starts with skills’ campaign which is encouraging people to find out more about the different apprenticeship and wider skills programmes available.

Cabinet Office

Darlington Economic Campus: Contracts

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether paying a minimum wage equal to that recommended by the Living Wage Foundation is a stipulation in the tendering process for facilities management contracts at the Darlington Economic Campus.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the employment terms and conditions were for subcontracted employees working on the facilities management contract at the Darlington Economic Campus as of 7 February 2024.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether a contract has been awarded for facilities management at the Darlington Economic Campus.

Alex Burghart: The Darlington Economic Campus (DEC) receives facilities management (FM) services via the "Provision of TFM Services to GPA Sites", and this contract was awarded to ISS Mediclean Ltd under the RM3830 framework. The Government Property Agency (GPA) ensures that their supply chain is compliant with the relevant employment legislation, including the relevant statutory staff pay rate.

Import Controls

Stella Creasy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to paragraph 56 of The Border Target Operating Model, published in August 2023, what costs are within the scope of the estimated £330 million per year overall cost of the new model.

Alex Burghart: The estimated £330 million per year new costs to EU imports covers the costs to industry and traders for both Safety and Security and Sanitary and Phytosanitary aspects of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM).

Cabinet Office: Health and Safety

Chris Stephens: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether all (a) buildings and (b) workplaces staff from their Department occupy have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Alex Burghart: Yes, all buildings and workplaces staff from Cabinet Office occupy have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Haughton Academy

Julie Elliott: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) charities and (b) other bodies were involved in the organisation of the Prime Minister's visit to Haughton Academy in Darlington on 29 January 2024.

Alex Burghart: As has been the practice under successive administrations, official visits by the Prime Minister are organised by his or her office - in this case, liaising directly with the Academy.

Blood: Contamination

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2024 to Question 11285 on Blood: Contamination and with reference to the oral contribution of the Rt hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North during Points of Order on 1 February 2024, Official Report, column 1019, for what reason the Paymaster General stated that the (a) psychological support and (b) clinical, legal and care experts were in place; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure the accuracy of information provided by Ministers about (i) support and (ii) compensation for people affected by infected blood.

John Glen: I thank the Honourable Lady for her point and note that I wrote to her on the 2nd February 2024, following the point of order she raised on 1st February. During Cabinet Office Oral Questions on 18 January 2024, Jessica Morden MP raised a question about the urgency of compensation for the victims of the infected blood scandal. In response, I sought to assure her that I was doing everything I could to deliver as quickly as possible, and that psychological support for victims was now in place. As I requested, my statement regarding psychological support has been corrected in Hansard and makes clear that a bespoke psychological support service for infected blood victims, commissioned by NHS England, is currently being developed, and is planned to go live in early Summer 2024. Regarding experts, when I spoke on 18 January, the Government was onboarding experts to advise on the Government’s response to the Infected Blood Inquiry’s recommendations on compensation. On 22 January, the chair of the expert group and clinical experts formally took up their appointments and the advising legal firm contract was awarded. The Government will update on the appointment of social care experts in due course.

Agriculture: Business

Steve Reed: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the total number of (a) farming and (b) growing businesses that have gone out of business in each year since 2010.

John Glen: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 8th February is attached. UK Statistics Authority (pdf, 106.0KB)13729 DATASET (xlsx, 18.1KB)

Civil Servants: Veterans

Steve McCabe: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress his Department has made on increasing the accessibility of the Great Place to Work employment programme.

Johnny Mercer: This Government understands that recruiting veterans is one of the most effective business decisions that any employer can make, and is committed to ensuring that all veterans have equity of opportunity and access into sustainable employment, including in the Civil Service, after they leave the Armed Forces. The Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative provides an enhanced opportunity for all veterans, whatever their accessibility requirements, to secure employment and pursue a career in the Civil Service. It enables those who meet the minimum requirements to proceed to the next stage of the application process, which is usually an interview. The Government has also introduced a range of measures to support veterans and members of the Armed Forces community in the workplace, including the Service Leavers’ Adjustment Passport. The passport enables veterans to have empowered, and where appropriate, confidential conversations with current or future prospective employers, including the Civil Service, to communicate any reasonable adjustments or any other support requirements they may require or benefit from.

Ministry of Justice

Question

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to respond to the correspondence of 3 January 2024 from the Rt hon. Member for East Ham, reference ST114629.

Mike Freer: The Ministry of Justice takes the handling of correspondence very seriously. The Right Honourable Member’s correspondence was initially sent to the incorrect address. After liaising with his office, the Ministry of Justice correspondence team is now handling the request as per our usual processes. A response will be provided by 1 March 2024.

Ministry of Justice: Health and Safety

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether all (a) buildings and (b) workplaces staff from their Department occupy have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Mike Freer: The Ministry of Justice has a Health and Safety policy and Occupational Health and Safety Management System in place, which requires suitable and sufficient risk assessments to ensure all occupational health and safety hazards and risks are adequately identified, assessed, controlled and monitored.

Lowdham Grange Prison: Civil Disorder

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times a (a) Tornado and (b) national tactical response team was deployed to HMP Lowdham Grange in the last 24 months.

Edward Argar: The National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) are a specialist resource that provide intervention options to the Silver and Gold commanders. NTRG is a highly trained team that provide expertise in technical interventions that would carry higher risk of failure or injury, and which require skills and equipment limited only to NTRG staff.Operation Tornado is a national mutual aid plan by which prisons support one another in the event of a serious incident or occurrence requiring a reinforcement of staff. Operation Tornado is employed by HMPPS for three main reasons:In response to a serious incident requiring a reinforcement of staff.In response to other events or crisis requiring additional staff, who may not necessarily need to be Tornado trained.To aid the transfer of prisoners in the event of a serious incident or the threat of one (with the GOLD commander’s agreement).In the 24 months from January 2022 there were 3 Tornado activations.In the 24 months from January 2022 there were 40 national tactical response team deployments.The Ministry of Justice took over the running of HMP Lowdham Grange on 18 December 2023 for an interim period to improve safety and security at the prison.The immediate steps to stabilise the prison include:Deploying a new Governor to take command of the establishmentBringing in experienced HMPPS staff, including prison officers to bolster staffing levels and additional managers to strengthen leadership at the prisonLaunching an immediate review of conditions and compliance at the prison so remedial action can be taken to improve stability, security and safety.

Alcoholic Drinks: Crime

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department conducted a women-specific impact and health needs assessment prior to the roll out of the use of alcohol monitoring tags.

Gareth Bacon: There have been two equalities impact assessments, both of which considered offenders’ sex, prior to the Department’s introduction of alcohol monitoring.An Equalities Impact Assessment was carried out on the alcohol monitoring measures introduced by the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, it is published and available using this link: Alcohol abstinence and monitoring requirement (justice.gov.uk).A further Equalities Impact Assessment was carried out and published alongside the Statutory Instrument to commence the Alcohol Abstinence and Monitoring Requirement, The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Commencement No. 14) Order 2020, and is available using this link: The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Commencement No. 14) Order 2020 (legislation.gov.uk).

Homicide: Prison Sentences

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of sentences for murder were calculated from the starting point of (a) 15 years, (b) 25 years, (c) 30 years and (d) a whole life tariff in each of the last three years.

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of sentences for domestic homicides were calculated from the starting point of (a) 15 years, (b) 25 years, (c) 30 years and (d) a whole life tariff in each of the last three years.

Gareth Bacon: All murder convictions must result in a life sentence. When a life sentence is imposed, the Judge will calculate the minimum term by selecting the appropriate starting point as set out in legislation – namely Schedule 21 of the Sentencing Act 2020. When sentencing adult offenders, the starting points are 15, 25, 30 years or a whole life order.The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of prosecutions, convictions, and sentences across various offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool. Please filter by the offence ‘murder’ in the sentence outcomes tab for details on the number of offenders sentenced for murder.Statistical data on starting points for murder sentences, including domestic homicides, is not collected. The information may be held on individual court records, however interrogating these would incur disproportionate costs.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2024 to Question 5054 on Prison Sentences: Foreign Nationals, what the evidential basis is for the calculation of the number of previous convictions of non-UK nationals in prison incurring a disproportionate cost.

Edward Argar: A cost calculation was completed which reflects that there are over 350 nationality codes within the Ministry of Justice extract of the Police National Computer, and an individual can have multiple nationalities. Establishing which individuals are known not to be UK nationals from this data and identifying their criminal histories would have required bespoke investigation, coding and linkage to wider data.

Alcoholic Drinks: Sentencing

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help ensure that people convicted of a crime in which alcohol was an aggravating factor are provided with harm reduction (a) support and (b) education as part of their sentence.

Edward Argar: The Ministry of Justice is committed to tackling the underlying causes of offending, including alcohol misuse, as it is crucial to reducing reoffending. Between 2011/12 and 2021/22, the overall proven reoffending rate has decreased from 31.3% to 25.2% and we are continuing taking action to drive down the reoffending rate even further. In the community, we want to make the best use of alternatives to custody to ensure that offenders with substance misuse needs are diverted to treatment wherever appropriate. Offenders can be given an Alcohol Treatment Requirement (ATR) as part of a community sentence, and we are committed to increasing the use of these. The Department for Health and Social Care are investing £532m to increase drug and alcohol treatment and recovery places and we have recruited new Health and Justice Coordinators in every probation region to improve links between probation and local drug and alcohol treatment services. We are also piloting three Intensive Supervision Courts where offenders will be subject to regular reviews with a judge, drug testing, incentives and sanctions. In custody, we have recruited Drug Strategy Leads in key prisons to ensure a focus on tackling drug and alcohol misuse. Staying in treatment on release is crucial and so we are also rolling out more secure video calling technology, providing prisoners with the opportunity to engage with community treatment pre-release. We are also expanding the number of Incentivised Substance-Free Living Units where prisoners commit to remaining free of illicit drugs and alcohol, with regular drug testing and incentives. We now have over 60 of these wings across the estate and are aiming to reach up to 100 by March 2025. This will dramatically expand the number of prisoners who have access to these wings.

Prisons: Alcoholic Drinks

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to address alcohol harm in prisons.

Edward Argar: The Ministry of Justice works closely with NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to ensure that all prisoners who need it have access to high-quality alcohol and substance misuse treatment. As part of the government’s 10-year drug strategy, DHSC has made a record £532 million of additional investment through to 2024/25 to improve drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services The MoJ is also investing to tackle drug and alcohol misuse and engage more offenders in treatment, including recruiting Drug Strategy Leads in key prisons to coordinate a whole-system approach, and Health and Justice Coordinators in every probation region to improve links between prison and local drug and alcohol treatment services.   We are also expanding the number of Incentivised Substance-Free Living Units where prisoners commit to remaining free of illicit drugs and alcohol, with regular drug testing and incentives. We now have over 60 of these wings across the estate, and are aiming to reach up to 100 by March 2025. This will dramatically expand the number of prisoners who have access to these wings. We are committed to tackling the supply of drugs and alcohol into prison. Our £100m Security Investment Programme completed in March 2022 and delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners, resulting in full coverage across the closed male estate. We have also installed 84 X-ray baggage scanners at 49 sites, building on the rollout of our body scanners, drug trace detection machines and metal detection archways.

Prisons: Civil Disorder

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times Tornado Teams have been deployed to incidents in prisons in England and Wales in each year since 2018.

Edward Argar: Operation Tornado is a national mutual aid plan by which prisons support one another in the event of a serious incident or occurrence requiring a reinforcement of staff. Operation Tornado is employed by HMPPS for three main reasons:In response to a serious incident requiring a reinforcement of staff.In response to other events or crisis requiring additional staff, who may not necessarily need to be Tornado trained.To aid the transfer of prisoners in the event of a serious incident or the threat of one (with the GOLD commander’s agreement). The table below lists how many times Tornado Teams have been deployed at the end of each year since 2018.YearDeployments to Prisons201810201910202062021420229202313

National Tactical Response Group

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times the National Tactical Response Group has been deployed in each year since 2018.

Edward Argar: The National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) are a specialist resource that provide intervention options to the Silver and Gold commanders. NTRG is a highly trained team that provide expertise in technical interventions that would carry higher risk of failure or injury, and which require skills and equipment limited only to NTRG staff. The information requested can be found in the table(s) below.Number of deployments of National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) by year since 2018YearNumber of deployments of NTRG201862820197192020455202138420225702023794

Lowdham Grange Prison: Crimes of Violence

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many assaults were committed against prison staff by prisoners in HMP Lowdham Grange in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.

Edward Argar: We publish the number of assaults against prison staff, broken down by establishment, as part of our Safety in Custody statistics, in Table 8e of the summary tables, available at the following link: Safety in custody: quarterly update to September 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Totals for those occurring at HMP Lowdham Grange can be seen at row 96. Please note that the number of assaults occurring in October-December 2023 cannot be provided as they are due for publication at the end of April. While the overall rate of staff assault across the prison estate remains below pre-pandemic levels, we continue to ensure all our hardworking staff are protected and will never tolerate violence against our hardworking prison officers. Prisoners who are violent towards staff will face the full consequences of their actions and will be dealt with swiftly and effectively, which includes further time behind bars. We are providing staff in the adult male estate with a personal safety training package in order to protect them from serious violence. We also continue to provide targeted support to prisons to operate the Challenge, Support and Intervention Plan (CSIP) which provides a framework for managing violence that is centred around the individual needs of prisoners, helping them to move away from violent behaviours.

Prison Officers: Training

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how long on average it takes to train new prison officers.

Edward Argar: All new Prison Officers receive a minimum of ten weeks of training which provides them with the skills required to be a competent prison officer.

Youth Custody

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an estimate of the number of young people aged 18 or over in the youth secure estate who have been separated from their peers for more than seven days in the last 12 months.

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many young people aged 18 or over from each (a) ethnic group and (b) religion were in the youth estate as of 31 December 2023.

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what is the age of the oldest individual placed in the youth secure estate as of 6 February 2024.

Edward Argar: The latest 12-month period for which data are available is 01 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. During that period, 56 young people aged 18 or over in the youth secure estate were separated for more than seven days. All of these were in young offender institutions.In making the above calculation, the following rules were applied:Where a period of separation began before 01 April 2022, the full duration of the separation has been counted.Where a period of separation began before 31 March 2023, it is deemed to have ended on 31 March 2023 for the purpose of this calculation.The data provided relate to continuous periods of separation of more than seven days.If a new period of separation began within five days of a previous period of separation’s ending, it is deemed to be a single continuous period of separation.Young people aged 17 when their separation began, but who turned 18 more than seven days before the separation ended have been counted.On 31 December 2023, there were 153 young people aged 18 or over in the youth estate. Details of their ethnicity and religious affiliation are provided in the following tables.Number of 18+ year olds by ethnic group, December 2023 Number of 18+ year oldsAsian8Black48Mixed22Not Known*Other*White69Grand Total153NoteThe symbol * is used for suppressed values of five or fewer, to prevent disclosure in accordance with data protection principles. Zero figures are not suppressed. Number of 18+ year olds by religious group, December 2023 Number of 18+ year oldsNo Religion24Christian55Muslim22Other religion10Religion not stated42Grand Total153As of 06 February 2024, the oldest young person accommodated in the youth estate was 18 years old.

Secure Training Centres and Young Offender Institutions: Safety

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many safeguarding referrals have been made from each (a) young offender institution and (b) secure training centre for people aged 18 or over in each of the last five years.

Edward Argar: The data requested are set out in the following tables:Young Offender Institutions 2020202120222023Cookham Wood8*2522Feltham A10101228Parc YPU00*15Werrington*7*29Wetherby14363261 Secure Training Centres 2020202120222023Oakhill8*09Rainsbrook139-- Notes1. The symbol * is used for suppressed values of 5 or fewer, to prevent disclosure in accordance with data protection principles. Zero figures are not suppressed.2. Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre closed in December 2021.3. Please note that the above is classed as internal management information.4. Following Urgent Notification at Oakhill Secure Training Centre in October 2021, safeguarding data recording processes were reviewed and central collation of this data was ceased for the period of October - December 2021. Safeguarding processes were maintained locally for the period and following revision, central data collation recommenced in January 2022.When a safeguarding case is opened, the detail of the case may not be known. We conduct a thorough investigation of every case to understand the details and the severity of the concern and ensure that any necessary actions are taken to protect the children in our custody. It is not the case that an increase in safeguarding cases should always be a matter of concern: this would be dependent on the nature of the case. An increased number of cases may represent increased confidence on the part of staff in reporting concerns or may indicate that children feel safe to disclose information to staff. It is by conducting a thorough investigation that we can understand the nature of each case and identify any trends that need to be addressed.

Coroners: Birmingham and Solihull

Tahir Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions a body was released more than seven days after the coroner's office was notified in (a) Birmingham and (b) Solihull in each of the last 12 months; and whether the coroner (i) collects information on someone's religion and (ii) takes into account the timeframe for religious beliefs and practices relating to death and dying.

Mike Freer: Information is not held centrally on the release by coroners of the bodies of the deceased whose deaths are reported to them.Coroners are judges and, as such, are independent in the decisions they make in conducting their investigations. They exercise their judicial discretion in accordance with the relevant statutory and regulatory framework.The Chief Coroner has issued a suite of Guidance to assist coroners with the law and their legal duties, and to provide advice on policy and practice. His Guidance No.28 on Decision Making and Expedited Decisions is intended to be a practical guide to assist coroners in situations where a bereaved family has made a request to the coroner for urgent consideration of the death of a loved one and/or early release of their body; or where the coroner or coroner’s officers otherwise become aware of features of a particular death which may justify treating it as especially urgent.

County Courts

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the timely hearing of cases in county courts.

Mike Freer: We are taking action to ensure those that do need to go to trial are dealt with quickly. We have launched the biggest ever judicial recruitment drive for District Judges, are digitising court processes and holding more remote hearings, and are increasing the use of mediation. HMCTS’ Virtual Region pilot provides targeted support to the South East and London Regions to hear cases remotely where there is judicial resource available elsewhere in England and Wales.We announced in July that we would introduce a requirement for small claims in the county court to attend a mediation session with the Small Claims Mediation Service, starting with specified money claims. This requirement will start in the spring and is expected to help parties resolve their dispute swiftly and consensually without the need for a judicial hearing.

Probation: Staff

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the sustainability of probation officer caseload.

Edward Argar: We have increased funding for the Probation Service by an additional £155m a year since 2021 to recruit staff, bring down caseloads and deliver better supervision of offenders in the community. We have also accelerated recruitment of trainee Probation Officers, particularly in areas with the most significant staffing challenges. As a result, over 4,000 trainees, a record number, have started on training courses between April 2020 and March 2023. These intakes will qualify by the end of 2024 and will have a direct impact on reducing caseloads. The Probation Service is constantly monitoring staffing levels and retention, specifically in hard to recruit to areas, which remain challenging. We continue to take tactical decisions to mitigate the risk in sites where it is most acute, as well as taking forward several non-pay related activities to improve retention. From September 2022 to September 2023, the Probation Service saw an increase in staff of 11.8%, Senior Probation Officers saw an increase of 13%, and Probation Officers saw an increase of 6.9%.

Lowdham Grange Prison: Ambulance Services

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times an ambulance has been called to HMP Lowdham Grange in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.

Edward Argar: In line with policy at HMP Lowdham Grange, when a medical emergency procedure is activated, it is standard response for the communications room to call for an ambulance. This is in partnership with the prison’s healthcare providers. HMPPS does not hold information about the number of times the ambulance service has been called to attend the prison as the information is held by NHS England. HMPPS contract management teams provide assurance that the prison provides safe, decent and secure services in accordance with the contract.

Lowdham Grange Prison: Contracts

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many companies bid for the contract for running HMP Lowdham Grange awarded in August 2022.

Edward Argar: Five companies from the Prison Operator Services Framework submitted a bid for the operator contract for HMP Lowdham Grange.

Youth Custody

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average cost to the public purse is of a person aged 18 or over being placed in the children’s secure estate.

Edward Argar: I refer the honourable Member to the answer I gave to Question 8178 on 11 January 2024: Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament. There is no difference in the average cost to public purse if an 18-year-old remains within the youth secure estate upon reaching the age of 18. Newly-sentenced or remanded 18-year-olds are placed into adult establishments.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Health and Safety

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether all (a) buildings and (b) workplaces staff from their Department occupy have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

David T C Davies: All buildings and workplaces occupied by staff from my Department have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 in place.

Iron and Steel: Port Talbot

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, with reference to his oral contribution of 23 January 2024 during the debate on Protecting Steel in the UK, Official Report, column 265, whether his Department has undertaken or commissioned an independent assessment of the potential merits of the multi-union plan for steel production at Port Talbot.

David T C Davies: Tata Steel are now conducting a formal consultation period with staff regarding the company’s proposed £1.25bn project to transition to greener steelmaking at Port Talbot. Prior to this, Tata Steel have been discussing Union’s alternative proposals with them for several months. Ultimately, this is a commercial decision for Tata Steel and engagement with trade unions has always been a process that must be led by the employer. We are working with Tata Steel to provide up to £100m funding for a dedicated Transition Board, which I chair and includes members from the Welsh Government, to support both affected employees and the local economy.

Treasury

Public Sector: Workplace Pensions

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to help support eligible individuals following the McCloud Remedy.

Laura Trott: The Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022 provides remedy for discrimination that arose when new public service pensions schemes were introduced between 2014 and 2016. The remedy has two main elements: older “legacy” pension schemes were closed as of 1 April 2022 to equalise future accrual in newer “reformed” schemes; and, from 1 October 2023 all affected members are being given a choice at retirement (or within 18 months of 1 October 2023 for those who have already retired) as to whether to receive legacy or reformed scheme benefits for the remedy period.

Credit

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of people who have bought buy-now pay-later interest-free products in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.

Bim Afolami: HM Treasury regularly monitors the consumer credit market as part of its normal process of policy development. The department does not hold precise information on the number of consumers who used Buy-Now Pay-Later (BNPL) products in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023. Instead, HM Treasury draws on the research of various stakeholders to inform policy development. The Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Lives surveys include findings on the number of people using BNPL and can be accessed here: https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/research-notes/deferred-payment-credit-findings-financial-lives-survey.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Sarah Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the total £1.5 billion allocated for the Equitable Life Payments Scheme is paid out to affected Equitable Life policyholders.

Bim Afolami: The Government allocated £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders. The remainder of the £1.5 billion has been set aside for future payments to the With-Profits Annuitants. Further information is available in the Final Report on the Scheme (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report).

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department has paid in compensation to affected Equitable Life policyholders as of 8 February 2024.

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times officials in his Department have met affected Equitable Life policyholders in the last 12 months.

Bim Afolami: The Government allocated £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders. The remainder of the £1.5 billion has been set aside for future payments to the With-Profits Annuitants. Further information is available in the Final Report on the Scheme. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report). At 31 December 2023, the total value of payments made by the Equitable Life Payment Scheme was £1,330,835,466.52.

National Insurance

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress HMRC has made on reducing the time taken to issue f A1 forms.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average processing time was for issuing an A1 form in (a) January 2023, (b) September 2023, (c) December 2023 and (d) January 2024.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the time taken to issue A1 forms on the UK’s live music sector.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to deliver his Department's service standards for the issuing of A1 forms by April 2024.

Nigel Huddleston: Many musicians travel internationally for performances, and HMRC acknowledges that access to A1 certificates is important to them in accessing their social security rights in the EU, EEA and Switzerland. HMRC has seen a significant rise in the number of A1 applications and in other National Insurance work which has impacted processing times. While progress has been made, HMRC acknowledges that more needs to be done to meet its service standards and is aiming to do so for all types of A1 applications by the end of April 2024. To address this the department has implemented a recovery strategy, including providing additional resources. HMRC has also recently introduced new online versions of the A1 application forms based on customer feedback, along with additional features to improve the application process.

Childcare: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2023 to Question 2098 on Childcare: Finance, how much the Welsh Government will receive in Barnett Formula consequential funding for (a) the roll out 15 hours of free childcare for working parents of two-year-olds from April 2024 in England and (b) extending 15 hours of free childcare to all children from the age of nine months from September 2024 in England.

Laura Trott: The Barnett formula applies to all increases or decreases to Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL).The Department for Education received additional funding for these programmes at Spring Budget 2023, and the Barnett formula was applied in the usual way.

Child Benefit

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to review the High Income Child Benefit Charge threshold.

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review the threshold for the high income child benefit charge.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government is committed to managing the public finances in a disciplined and responsible way. The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) targets Child Benefit expenditure so that the Government is supporting most families, whilst ensuring the fiscal position remains sustainable. The threshold affects taxpayers who are generally on comparatively higher incomes. In 2020-21, (the latest year that data is available), 99.7% of those who declared a liability for HICBC paid income tax at the higher rate or above, and 88% of Child Benefit claimants were unaffected by the HICBC. As with all elements of tax policy, the Government keeps the HICBC under review.

Household Support Fund

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take steps to assess the potential merits of extending the Household Support Fund into the next financial year.

Laura Trott: The Government continues to keep all of its existing policies and programmes under review in the usual way.

Tobacco: Smuggling

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the policy paper entitled Stubbing out the problem: A new strategy to tackle illicit tobacco, published in January 2024, whether the £100 million to be allocated to HMRC and Border Force to tackle the illicit tobacco trade is in addition to the £30 million planned investment announced in the news story entitled Prime Minister to create smokefree generation by ending cigarette sales to those born on or after 1 January 2009, published on 4 October 2023.

Gareth Davies: The £100 million to be allocated to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Border Force to tackle the illicit tobacco trade will be split over 5 years and represents a proportion of the aforementioned £30 million per year. It will support the delivery of the illicit tobacco strategy.

Illicit Tobacco Taskforce

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to ensure that the police are represented on the Illicit Tobacco Taskforce.

Gareth Davies: Although HMRC works with the police where appropriate, it is the lead law enforcement agency on tobacco fraud. HMRC has its own powers to conduct criminal investigations, make arrests and seek prosecution (via the Crown Prosecution Service). The initial members of the taskforce will play a lead role in tackling tobacco fraud, but will also work with all law enforcement and intelligence agencies where appropriate. As the taskforce develops, the Government will regularly review the need to bring in other partners.

Tobacco: Smuggling

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to bullet four of Aim 1A in the policy paper entitled Stubbing out the problem: A new strategy to tackle illicit tobacco, published in January 2024, whether the review of sanctions will include a re-examination of the ability for Trading Standards to apply on-the-spot fines rather than referring to HMRC.

Gareth Davies: There are no immediate plans to re-examine the ability for Trading Standards to apply ‘on the spot fines’ rather than referring to HMRC. However, the Government keeps all options under review and welcomes representations to inform future decisions. HMRC and Trading Standards worked closely together to design the current referral process. Making best use of their respective resources and expertise in the most effective and efficient way was a major driver for the current design. The referral model leverages the strengths of both organisations: Trading Standards’ ability to provide street level enforcement activity and visibility, alongside HMRC's capabilities in the effective administration of penalties.

Hospitality Industry and Tourism: Government Assistance

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to support the hospitality and tourism sectors.

Gareth Davies: The Government is committed to supporting the hospitality and tourism sectors, which provide a significant contribution to the UK economy and society. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, over £37 billion has been provided to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks. At Autumn Statement 2023, the government announced it will extend the business rates Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief scheme at 75 per cent, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business for 2024-25. Around 230,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties will be eligible for this relief, a tax cut worth nearly £2.4 billion. Over this Spending Review period – the Government has allocated over £100m to the British Tourist Authority to support VisitBritain and VisitEngland with marketing activity to promote Britain as a destination.

Public Houses: Government Assistance

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to help support community pubs.

Gareth Davies: The Government values the important contribution that pubs make to our culture and the UK economy, including fostering a sense of place and community. Under the new alcohol duty system, Draught Relief provides a 9.2% duty reduction on draught beer and cider products below 8.5% alcohol by volume. This ensures that there will always be a lower duty rate for draught products to recognise the value of our great British pubs. This means that every pint, in every pub across the UK pays less duty than their supermarket equivalent - this is the Government's Brexit Pubs Guarantee. In addition, at Autumn Statement 2023, the government announced it will extend the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief scheme at 75 per cent, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business for 2024-25. Around 230,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties, including pubs, will be eligible for this relief, a tax cut worth nearly £2.4bn. The Government is also funding a wide range of community assets, including pubs, through the Community Ownership Fund. To date, the Fund has allocated £71.3m to 257 projects, including many rural pubs.

Beer: Government Assistance

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to help support the brewery industry.

Gareth Davies: The Government values the important contribution that the brewery industry makes to our economy and society. The new duty system, introduced on 1 August 2023, contains many benefits for brewers, including two new reliefs. The new Small Producer Relief means that small producers now see reduced duty rates on all products below 8.5 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV) up to a production threshold. The new Draught Relief means that all alcoholic products under 8.5 per cent ABV which are sold in containers of 20 litres or more and are sold to connect to a dispense system qualify for reduced duty rates. This relief provides a reduction in the duty on draught beer and cider products by 9.2 per cent. As with all tax policy, the Government keeps the alcohol duty system under review as part of the annual Budget process.

Pensioners: Tax Allowances

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the tax-free threshold for pensioners to £15,000.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government is committed to ensuring that older people are able to live with the dignity and respect they deserve. The Personal Allowance is currently set at a level high enough to ensure that those pensioners whose sole income is the full new State Pension or basic State Pension do not pay any income tax.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Voluntary Work: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what events will be held in Northern Ireland to launch the Big Help Out in 2024.

Stuart Andrew: My department is funding and supporting the launch of the 2024 Big Help Out, taking place 7 - 9 June this year, aiming to raise awareness of volunteering and to provide opportunities for people to support their communities.The Government does not organise events itself, but we understand that plans are in development for the Big Help Out in Northern Ireland with Volunteer Now supporting Shaping the Future member organisations to host two events in Belfast and Enniskillen on 7 June 2024.Millions of people took part in last year’s Big Help Out with a huge range of charities and voluntary organisations providing people with the opportunity to try out and experience volunteering. All 11 local government districts in Northern Ireland participated last year.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Oil: Scotland

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his Department's contingency plans are for (a) Scottish domestic energy and (b) aviation fuel security in the event that (i) the Finnart pipeline is shut and (ii) Grangemouth does not have a refinery capacity.

Andrew Bowie: Scotland has other infrastructure for the import of both road and aviation fuel. In most circumstances industry is able to manage disruptions to supply chains without impact to the customer. We would expect this to be the case for either of the scenarios given. If the industry requires support, the Department can provide assistance including a reserve fleet of road tankers, which can be made available to hauliers to help them maintain supplies from more distant infrastructure.

Pipelines: Scotland

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2024 to Question 3139 on Pipelines: Scotland, whether the (a) Finnart oil terminal and (b) pipeline to Grangemouth are classified as critical national infrastructure.

Andrew Bowie: The Government cannot disclose which sites are classified as critical national infrastructure due to national security concerns.

Oil: Scotland

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether an assessment has been made of the potential (a) maritime and (b) environmental impact of the increased use of Finnart oil terminal in the event of the closure of Grangemount refinery.

Andrew Bowie: The matter of maritime activity in Clydeport including Finnart oil terminal is a matter for Transport Scotland for devolved matters, and the Department for Transport for reserved matters. As such, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has not conducted an assessment of maritime impacts of the use of Finnart Oil terminal. Finnart terminal is currently in use in both an import and export capacity for a variety of oils. Any assessment of environmental impacts as a result of changing functions of the oil terminal is a matter for the company to consider with the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency.

Marine Environment: Carbon Capture and Storage

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department is taking steps to include the the impact of (a) seagrass meadows, (b) salt marshes and (c) other blue carbon habitats in the greenhouse gas inventory.

Amanda Solloway: The estimation of the impact of anthropogenic activities on seagrass meadows, salt marshes and other blue carbon habitats along the shores of the UK is currently precluded by widespread gaps in the data required to generate emission estimates in line with current guidelines. We are working with the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership (UKBCEP) to resolve this. As a first step, a roadmap to inclusion of saltmarsh has been created and the UKBCEP are working to collect the necessary data.

Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships for Climate Action

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has received representations from local government bodies on the potential impact of the decision not to join Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships for Climate Action on the Government’s efforts to work with sub-national bodies in countries that have joined that coalition.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2024 to Question 12045 on Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of joining the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships for Climate Action on the delivery of net zero at the subnational level.

Graham Stuart: The Government is already undertaking a significant amount of work at the subnational level to deliver net zero, as outlined in the Net Zero Strategy and Net Zero Growth Plan. Therefore, the Government does not see a need to sign up to the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships for Climate Action at this time. We engage regularly with local government through the Local Net Zero Forum. To date, the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships for Climate Action has not been raised as part of these discussions.

Oil: Scotland

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what data her Department holds on the daily capacity to transport oil of the Finnart to Grangemouth pipeline.

Andrew Bowie: The Department holds some historical data related to the pipeline connecting Finnart terminal and Grangemouth Refinery, however, data on refinery operations are a commercial matter for the operating company and are not published or otherwise made publicly available by the Department.

Oil: Scotland

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions she has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) relevant stakeholders on the future of the (i) Finnart oil terminal and (ii) Finnart to Grangemouth pipeline.

Andrew Bowie: My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State has regular meetings with Cabinet colleagues to discuss a range of issues. Following the announcement from Petroineos on Grangemouth refinery, the Secretary of State met with Franck DeMay, Chief Executive Officer of Petroineos Refining Limited on 23 November 2023 to discuss future options for the company’s operations in the UK. The Department’s other Ministers have continued to engage the company, local business and the Scottish Government on the matter over this time.

Oil: Scotland

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential impact on (a) security and (b) the environment of increasing oil imports to Finnart oil terminal.

Andrew Bowie: Finnart oil terminal is already used for the import of crude oil and export of oil products in considerable volumes. The announcement by Petroineos that they are developing a plan to facilitate the import of products at Finnart is designed to provide them with greater operational flexibility and allow them to continue supplying fuel products to customers. Any assessment of environmental impacts as a result of changing functions of the oil terminal is a matter for the company to consider with the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bees

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the bumble bee population in the UK.

Rebecca Pow: There are 24 bumblebee species in the UK. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust runs the Great Britain (GB) BeeWalk survey, which involves volunteers walking the same fixed route at least once a month between March and October (inclusive). The abundance of each bumblebee species seen is recorded in a 4m x 4m x 2m recording box to standardise between habitats and observers. The data for 2010-2019 shows that for the 20 species with enough observation data to assess trends, 8 species had positive population trends and 12 had declining trends in GB.

Food: Waste

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will introduce mandatory food waste reporting for (a) large and (b) medium sized businesses.

Robbie Moore: The Secretary of State decided in November 2023 to look again at how best to secure the benefits of food waste reporting for large businesses. We now intend to gather further evidence and re-consider all options in the 2022 consultation, including mandatory reporting, using the latest available data. We expect to make the decision later this year. Medium sized businesses (MSBs) are not under consideration for mandatory reporting approach. MSBs are supported to report voluntarily, including through the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap and the Guardians of Grub programme, which provide guidance to businesses of all sizes on tackling food waste.

Plastics: Waste Disposal

Brendan Clarke-Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of plastic pyrolysis plants on the environment in (a) residential and (b) other areas.

Robbie Moore: Plastic pyrolysis plants in England will be regulated under the Environmental Permitting Regulations, either by the Environment Agency or the relevant local authority, depending on the size and configuration of the plant. Before issuing an environmental permit, the EA will carry out an environmental risk assessment of the process, including emissions to air, odour and noise. This will be done irrespective of the location of the plant, but a plant in a residential area may require more sensitive receptors to be assessed and tighter controls compared to one in a less densely populated area. The EA will not issue a permit if the proposed plant could have a significant impact on the environment, including if it could have an unacceptable impact on air quality or cause pollution via odour or noise. If a permit is issued, the EA will carry out regular audits and inspections of the plant to ensure compliance. The EA is not responsible for deciding where plastic pyrolysis plants should be located, whether they are the right solution for dealing with waste plastics, or for any vehicle movements to and from the plants. Instead, such matters are considered under planning by the relevant authority. If the local authority is the regulator of the plant, the EA will have no control over the permitting or regulatory process, but it will be able to provide advice and guidance via its Local Authority Unit Team if the local authority requests it. Local authorities would be expected to have similar permitting and regulatory processes to those of the EA.

Food Supply

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve food security.

Mark Spencer: The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response. It is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources; strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. We produce 60% of all the food we need, and 73% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year, and these figures have changed little over the last 20 years. UK consumers have access through international trade to food products that cannot be produced here, or at least not on a year-round basis. This supplements domestic production, and also ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK's overall security of supply. Defra has well established ways of working with the industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains. Recognising the importance of food security, in the Agriculture Act 2020, the Government made a commitment to produce an assessment of our food security at least once every three years. The first UK Food Security Report was published in December 2021. The next Food Security Report will be published by the end of 2024. The Farm to Fork Summit also took place on 16 May 2023. Discussions focused on bringing great British food to the world; building resilience and transparency; strengthening sustainability and productivity across the supply chain; and growing an innovative, skilled food and farming sector. Engagement with the entire supply chain continues as we deliver the commitments from the summit.

Horses: Exports

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to stop the export of horses to Europe for slaughter.

Mark Spencer: The Government is banning the export of horses for slaughter through the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill which is progressing through Parliament.

Electronic Cigarettes

Steven Bonnar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to develop a detailed timeline for the roll-out of a ban on disposable vapes.

Robbie Moore: Defra is currently developing the timeline for the ban on the sale and supply of disposable vapes and is engaging with devolved administrations across the UK as well as relevant enforcement agencies to ensure successful rollout. Any legislation taken forward will allow for an implementation period of at least six months, which takes into consideration concerns that industry will require time to adapt.

Electronic Cigarettes

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the devolved Administrations on ensuring a consistent approach across the UK to the Government's proposed ban on disposable vapes.

Steven Bonnar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the (a) Scottish and (b) Welsh governments on ensuring the interoperability of a ban on disposable vapes.

Robbie Moore: Following the consultation on creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping, the recently published government response confirmed that the UK Government intends to bring forward legislation as soon as possible to ban the supply and ban of disposable vapes in England. Scotland and Wales also confirmed they intend to bring forward similar legislation and Northern Ireland is considering next steps following the consultation. We are in regular discussions with the devolved administrations on these proposals.

Electronic Cigarettes: Waste Disposal

Steven Bonnar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the scale of the environmental impact of disposable vapes.

Robbie Moore: When littered, disposable vapes can introduce plastic, nicotine salts, heavy metals, lead, mercury, and flammable lithium-ion batteries into the natural environment. These items and substances contaminate waterways and soil, posing a risk to the environment and animal health. Defra commissioned external research to further understand the environmental harms of disposable vapes, which is published online. The objectives of this report included understanding the UK single-use vape market, disposal methods, environmental impacts and other international approaches to regulating vapes.

Rodents: Animal Welfare

Sarah Dyke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of legislation on the welfare of (a) pet and (b) wild rodents.

Rebecca Pow: The Government continues to take positive action to protect the welfare of companion animals - including rabbits and pet rodents such as gerbils, hamsters and guinea pigs. The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the 2018 regulations) require anyone who is in the business of selling rodents as pets to obtain a valid licence from their local authority. Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act), it is an offence to cause any animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for its welfare. The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 amended the 2006 Act to deliver the Government's manifesto commitment to increase the sentences available to our courts for the most serious cases of animal cruelty. Anyone who is cruel to an animal (including domestic rabbits and pet rodents) faces being sent to prison for up to five years, or receiving an unlimited fine, or both. This strengthened measure sends a clear message that animal cruelty will not be tolerated. Advice is available to educate pet owners on providing for the welfare needs of their pet, including fact sheets produced by the Royal Veterinary College. We also have legislation in place regarding the welfare of wild rodents. A number of native wild species of rodent such as Hazel Dormouse, Red Squirrel, and Water Vole are afforded full protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which makes it an offence to intentionally: kill, injure or take them. The welfare of all rodents is protected under both the Wild Mammals Act 1996 which makes certain acts of deliberate harm illegal and the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which makes it unlawful for wild rodents to be subject to unnecessary suffering while under human control. Further to this, through the Glue Traps (Offences) Act 2022, the Government is banning the use of glue traps in England in all but the most exceptional circumstances.

Floods: Disaster Relief

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was of flooding in each of the last five years.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department has invested in flood resilience in each of the last five years.

Robbie Moore: The Environment Agency counts properties flooded during all flood events, with final numbers verified by local flood authorities. Additionally, the Environment Agency looks at long term national trends, rates of optimal spend, but only calculates the economic costs of an actual flood in occasional circumstances due to the significant time and cost associated with undertaking the reports. Therefore, data is not collated on an annual basis. Since 2010, there are costs of flood reports for the major events of winter 2013/14 and winter 2015/16. It is estimated the 2013/14 winter floods caused approximately £1.3 billion of damage and the 2015/16 winter floods caused approximately £1.6 billion of damage.

Japanese Knotweed: Weed Control

Simon Jupp: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to eradicate Japanese knotweed.

Rebecca Pow: The Government recognises the threats posed by invasive species, including Japanese knotweed, and has a comprehensive Great Britain Non-native Species Strategy designed to co-ordinate action to tackle these threats.  Defra funds biocontrol research to tackle Japanese knotweed. It is hoped that this will provide a cost and time effective way of managing this species. This research has identified the psyllid Aphalari itadori, (a sap-sucking insect), as a biological control agent for tackling Japanese Knotweed. Information about the research can be found on the Japanese Knotweed Alliance website. Local Action Groups, with support from Government, are actively involved in reducing and eradicating Japanese knotweed. Japanese knotweed is listed on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it an offence to allow the plant to escape or cause it to grow in the wild. The Government has developed guidance on how to prevent the spread of Japanese knotweed and other harmful weeds, as well as how to treat and dispose of them, which can be found on GOV.UK:How to stop invasive non-native plants from spreading - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The Government also run awareness raising campaigns such as ‘Be Plant Wise’ and Invasive Species Week, as well as providing species information and online training materials on biosecurity on the GB NNSS website.

Dangerous Dogs

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the ban on American XL Bullies on the (a) rescue and (b) veterinary sectors.

Mark Spencer: Defra worked closely with stakeholders including rescue and rehoming centres and the veterinary sector to consider the impacts of banning XL Bully dogs. We continue to engage with stakeholders to monitor the impacts of the ban.

Convention on Biological Diversity

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on the agreements made at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15).

Rebecca Pow: The UK played a leading role at COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity in securing agreement to a historic package of measures to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Our priority for COP16 and beyond is to drive global delivery of these agreements both at home and abroad, by working closely with our international partners. Since COP15, we have worked internationally to drive delivery of the Kunming Montreal targets, including by: announcing an initial contribution of £10m to the newly-established Global Biodiversity Framework Fund;launching the Ocean Community Empowerment and Nature (OCEAN) competitive grants programme under the UK's £500 million Blue Planet Fund, which will run until 31 March 2029 and provide up to £60m to support innovative proposals from local coastal communities and organisations that aim to deliver marine protection and poverty reduction outcomes; andcommitting to lay in Spring 2024 forest risk commodity legislation which will require UK-based operators to ensure that the regulated commodities used in their supply chains were produced in compliance with local laws relating to land ownership and use. Domestically we have: driven forward the global commitment to protect 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030, publishing a new map to show what areas could count in the delivery of “30by30”, which will ensure our most important places, at the core of nature’s recovery, are protected for our iconic species to thrive;announced £15million new funding to accelerate nature recovery across our most cherished Protected Landscapes, and a new Rainforest Strategy backed by £750,000 funding to protect the delicate and globally rare temperate rainforest habitats found across the Southwest and Cumbria;reaffirmed our commitment to deliver Marine Net Gain (MNG), ensuring that developments at sea also deliver measurable benefits for nature; andestablished a comprehensive network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) covering 38% of our waters, with sites protecting 40% of English waters. We are now focusing on making sure our MPAs are effectively managed for nature, with the aim to have management measures to protect features from damaging fishing activities in English MPAs by the end of 2024. The four nations of the UK are working together and aim to publish a UK-wide revised NBSAP (National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan) by May 2024, ahead of CBD COP16.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Public Expenditure

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the money unspent across his Department's budgets in 2023.

Mark Spencer: Defra has agreed with HM Treasury to budget exchange from 2023/24 to 2024/25 the following: £47.9 million Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (CDEL) for the Future Farming and Countryside Programme; £24.2 million CDEL for the Science Capability in Animal Health Programme; and £33.21 million CDEL for the Borders Programme. In addition, Defra has reprofiled £116.24 million CDEL primarily to reflect more accurate spend over future years.

Farmers: Mental Health

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will launch a consultation on the potential impact of increasing production costs on farmers’ mental health.

Mark Spencer: The Government understands the pressures some farmers are facing in light of rising input costs. We are keeping the situation under close review, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments. We also continue our engagement with industry to supplement our analysis with real time intelligence. In addition to this, we are providing expert business support to farmers under the Future Farming Resilience Fund. One of the key required outcomes for the Resilience Fund is that farmers’ mental health and wellbeing are supported, where required. Some delivery providers are offering this support from in-house experts and others are signposting support available from external expert services.

Dogs: Imports

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of banning the importation of dogs with cropped ears.

Mark Spencer: The practice of non-exempted mutilations such as cropping dogs' ears is abhorrent and has rightly been banned in the UK for over 10 years. In August 2021, we consulted on proposed changes to the commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into Great Britain including the importation of dogs with cropped ears.We are carefully reviewing the feedback from our consultation and wider engagement with stakeholders, and a summary will be published in due course.

Food: Labelling

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that information on food packaging is accessible for blind and partially-sighted people.

Mark Spencer: The availability and accessibility of essential food information to all consumers is vitally important. It is already a requirement that food information must be easily visible, clearly legible and where appropriate indelible, in addition to there being a required minimum font size for mandatory information We are aware of moves by some retailers to provide information on food in braille format, and the government is interested in seeing how this works We know there are other exciting possibilities, including the use of mobile phone apps and QR codes via which consumers with visual impairments may be able to access not only the basics, but the full range of information available on the label, as well as additional information provided via the App or QR code.

River Mersey: Pollution

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2024 to Question 9694 on River Mersey: Pollution, how many of the 56 pollution discharges in the River Mersey resulted in action being taken in line with the Environment Agency’s Enforcement and Sanctions policy.

Robbie Moore: Following the 56 pollution discharges into the River Mersey, in line with its enforcement and sanctions policy, the Environment Agency has taken action 24 times. Five pollution occurrences resulted in warning letters, 17 resulted in site warnings and two instances resulted in advice and guidance being issued. After initial enquiries, the Environment Agency took no further action in 12 instances where no offence was deemed to have been committed, in eight instances that had no impact on water quality and in two instances where, following its enforcement and sanctions policy, further action was deemed not to be in the public interest. There were 10 instances where a polluter could not be identified, so further action could not be taken.

Food Supply

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure an adequate supply of labour in the food supply chain.

Mark Spencer: Defra is aware of the impact that labour shortages are having on the food supply chain and we continue to speak regularly with the sector and other government departments to understand labour supply and demand, including both permanent and seasonal workforce requirements. To inform future decisions on labour across the sector, Defra commissioned John Shropshire to carry out an Independent Review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain throughout 2022 and 2023, considering how automation, domestic labour and migrant labour could contribute to tackling labour shortages in our sectors. This report was published on 30 June 2023 and the government response – which will also be informed by the Review of Automation in Horticulture – is expected to be published in early 2024. At the same time as the response, the government will set out how it will support the sector to access the labour it needs alongside actions to reduce the sector’s reliance on migrant labour including via our work on automation and promoting domestic labour procurement and training. Alongside this, the Government announced last May that there would be 45,000 Seasonal Worker visas for the horticulture sector in 2024, with a further 2000 for seasonal poultry workers, ensuring these sectors can plan their workforce needs for the year ahead with confidence.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Artificial Intelligence: Risk Assessment

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to mitigate risks which have been recorded in the her Department's AI risk register.

Saqib Bhatti: The AI Risk Register is owned and managed by the Central AI Risk Function (CAIRF). CAIRF has been established as part of our central functions which support coordination of the AI governance landscape. CAIRF conducts central risk assessment, monitors identified risks included on the register, and identifies relevant risk owners across government. DSIT will be responsible for cross-cutting mitigations to AI risks. We are working with departments and regulators on how they best respond to AI risks within their remits. Many regulators are already taking action in line with our principles-based approach, such as the CMA’s review into foundation models.

Artificial Intelligence: Risk Assessment

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's response to the AI regulation White Paper entitled A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation: government response, published on 6 February 2024, what her Department's criteria is for identifying a risk and recording it on the AI risk register.

Saqib Bhatti: The central AI risk function will maintain a holistic view of risks across the AI ecosystem. It will look at risk factors that cut across many risks, such as model capabilities, adoption, release practices, use cases, actors, and other vulnerabilities as well as the extent to which existing mitigations or resilience reduce the risk, and where gaps remain.

Artificial Intelligence: Risk Assessment

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's response to the AI regulation White Paper entitled A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation: government response, published on 6 February 2024, how many civil servants in (a) her Department and (b) across Government are working on the risk register of AI risks.

Saqib Bhatti: We currently have 10 officials working on AI risks in the central AI risk function, which owns the AI Risk Register. This is part of the wider AI Policy Directorate and AI Safety Institute of roughly 200 officials that includes teams covering AI regulation, strategy and risk, UK capability and international engagement. In addition, there are wider risk owning teams in at least 15 other Government Departments, who work on AI risks in their remits. We do not hold resourcing numbers for other Governments Departments.

Artificial Intelligence: Risk Assessment

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's response to the AI regulation White Paper entitled A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation: government response, published on 6 February 2024, if he will publish the list of risks on the Department's AI risk register.

Saqib Bhatti: To track identified risks, we have established an initial AI Risk Register which is owned by the Central AI Risk Function. The AI risk register lists individual risks associated with AI and outlines their likelihood and impact. In the White Paper we committed to engaging and publishing the risk register. From Spring 2024 we will begin a call for evidence on the risks recorded on the AI risk register.

Quantum Technology

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to page 31 of the National Quantum Strategy published on 15 March 2023, what progress her Department has made on engaging with other leading quantum nations to exchange knowledge on quantum programmes, developments, regulation, and security.

Andrew Griffith: The Government has signed bilateral agreements for deeper collaboration on quantum technologies with leading, like-minded quantum nations: the US, Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands. The Government also engages multilaterally on quantum in forums including the OECD, World Economic Forum, the Open Quantum Institute hosted at CERN, NATO, and AUKUS, and participates in multiple international standard development organisations.

Research: Employment Conditions

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to improve working conditions for people working in research and development.

Andrew Griffith: Since publication of the R&D People & Culture Strategy, the Government has been working with the R&D sector to take action that will improve the culture and conditions of people working in R&D. UKRI has delivered actions as part of the New Deal for Postgraduate Research, including reviewing its Training Grant Terms & Conditions to support individuals’ physical and mental wellbeing and increasing the minimum PhD stipend. UKRI chairs a quarterly sectoral forum, which works to tackle and prevent bullying and harassment by convening the R&D sector to create healthy, welcoming and safe working conditions.

Artificial Intelligence and ICT: Postgraduate Education

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2024 to Question 10644 on Artificial Intelligence and ICT: Postgraduate Education, how much industry co-funding (a) for scholarship funding and (b) excluding in-kind support has been secured by her Department since November 2023.

Saqib Bhatti: In November 2023 DSIT, through the Office for Students, published the latest data on industry funding for the AI conversion course and scholarship scheme as part of ongoing monitoring and evaluation. The next interim evaluation report is due to be published in June 2024 and will contain the latest breakdown of in-kind and scholarship funding commitments secured from industry, including the period since November 2023.

Attorney General

Criminal Proceedings: Disclosure of Information

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Attorney General, what steps she is taking to support external stakeholders to contribute to the next annual review of disclosure.

Robert Courts: In conducting any review, it is essential we involve operational partners and stakeholders affected by the changes.The 2023 update to the Attorney General’s Guidelines has been focused on digital evidence and a working group was established with representatives including the Crown Prosecution Service, Serious Fraud Office, HM Revenue and Customs, National Crime Agency, police, Ministry of Justice, and Home Office. In addition, specific sessions were held with the legal defence community.

Criminal Proceedings: Disclosure of Information

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Attorney General, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Annual Review of Disclosure, published on 26 May 2022, when the next annual review of disclosure will be carried out.

Robert Courts: Publication of the next Annual Review is due shortly. Given the 2022 review of disclosure was extensive, the current review has focused on the disclosure of digital evidence. I will write to the honourable member with the updated guidance as soon as the revisions are published.

Northern Ireland Office

Police: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what account the UK Government Financial Package to Northern Ireland takes of shortfalls in the policing budget.

Mr Steve Baker: Policing is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and the PSNI’s main budget is allocated by the Department of Justice. It will be for the Minister of Justice and Executive to consider how to use the financial package and funding for the PSNI budget. This Government recognises the difficult challenges around policing in Northern Ireland. That is why the Department of Justice budget, which includes the PSNI budget, was the third largest of all departments for 2023-24. Since 2011, we have made additional contributions to the PSNI through Additional Security Funding. The Government’s contribution for the financial year 2023-24 was £32 million and is the same as that provided in 2021-22, and has been provided each year since 2015-16.